FAITH: Building through HOPE- 5 Easy Steps to Building Personal Power

I felt as if I was unraveling. I was anxious constantly, unable to meditate for the life of me and in search of some serious clarity. When I finally came to, I realize that I had just  lost hope. Hope. A word I find not often used in conjunction with faith enough.

“Have faith!”, I’ve heard being preached all my life.

“You only need a mustard seed”, they’d holler.

Me to myself: “How?”

“No really, how?”

“Through Jesus”, they would often respond.

Me out loud: “How?”

Here I was again on to a new adventure- establishing a clothing line (among other things). No easy feat to conquer in any way, much less fathom at that point in time and then doubt crept in. Good ‘ole faithful ‘doubt’. Accompanied by no other than ‘fear’. I began to question everything I had done to build some kind of momentum both in my personal life and via social media. I questioned down to the hours I spent meditating for months now, in front of my vision board.

Powerless is how I felt.

“But why? I’m not supposed to feel this way,” 

“But, who said?”

I’ve come to the conclusion that hope is the only thing that keeps me going. Discovering this in one of my darkest hours has given me new life. It’s what helps me to build my faith. Faith is only what you believe in. In essence, faith is truth. And, as many people as there are in the world, so are there many truths and faiths as well. If Faith is the muscle, Hope is exercise.

And there are times, that we leave faith and go back over that bridge to be uncertain again. If we only look up and find that silver lining, we will be lead over that bridge that becomes stronger each time we walk it, to find things we never could imagine to be just on the other side by simply ‘keeping the hope alive.’

Below, you’ll find my top 5 Easy Steps to finding and Building Personal Power, and keeping this Hope alive: 

1.) Admit your doubt and fear aloud in a safe space.

By doing this, you are allowing yourself to be free from the confines of your mind and one step further from imprisoning yourself and moving forward to personal freedom. In this time it is encouraged to be as brutally honest as possible. Tears may follow or flow throughout this exercise, however this is alright as you are cleansing your soul.

2.) Write down at least 3 things (No more than 5) that you truly desire for your well being.

We are constantly multi-tasking and in the age of the internet there can be too much going on at one time and it can become challenging to keep up with. With allotting  yourself no more than 5 things to work on, you can begin to experience progress more quickly, thus living a more enjoyable life.

3.) Breathe Deeply.

For each of your desires, set a timer for 2 minutes, close your eyes and visualize that desire. You can do this in silence or with your favorite song(s) that give you joy. If you find your thoughts getting off course, go back to focus on breathing deeply until you regain that visual of you in possession of your desire.

4.) Practice What You Desire.

To desire just isn’t enough. We must practice what we desire. For example if your desire to leave your current job, don’t bitch about it. Take the time to think about what you would much rather be doing, prepare an escape route, and work your plan accordingly. Although you may still experience discontent each day, you also have a plan your working that keeps you just above water until you reach the shore. If you’d like to become more physically fit, try going for walks first, just because it feels good. Eventually you will run once you’re ready and strong enough.

5. Admit When You F**k Up- Don’t Beat Yourself Up.

With years of being on the same psychological hamster wheel, it’s hard to get off. You’re programmed to think and act in particular ways that are now habits that are difficult to break. “Practice makes habit, not perfect”, a statement I took from one of my job trainings. And it is in fact so. Don’t strive to be perfect, strive to be better than you were just two days ago or just a minute ago when you let yourself have it for calling your no good ex who didn’t pick up, now you’re telling yourself a story as to why they didn’t pick up and your beating yourself up for being so stupid. Admit when you are wrong or have done something that isn’t conducive to your growth. This is the first step to jumping off of the psychological hamster wheel.

This all may be a lot to digest for some, for others this is synchronicity at its finest. Wherever you are on the journey, know that it is a marathon.