It could be right in the middle of a 4-hour study marathon... It could be after a long week of campus activities... or even just after a long day of classes. Suddenly - or even not so suddenly - you are drained and all you can think of is finding a place to nap. From out of nowhere it all catches up to you. The worse thing is, you can't afford to stop right now. WRONG! This is the very time for you to stop - just for a few minutes and do this quick exercise for balancing college stress to get your energy back in a flash. STEP 1 - Notice it. That's right. Don't try to ignore it. Put your full attention on the fact that you just hit an energy barrier. If you are reading and feel like you're about to fall asleep acknowledge it so you can address it. STEP 2 -  Relax, sit up straight … [Read more...]

Recently, I visited the University of Alabama- Huntsville campus and presented Relaxation 101: A Meditation Primer for Stress Management During College and this was one of the questions I asked students to answer - "What is stressing you out right now?" The responses that I received were numerous - including but not limited to: Taking tests Starting first year of college Death of a family member Sexual abuse Relationship/dating problems Working while attending college Change in sleeping habits Taking advance classes Grades worse than expected Abortion And more! I also asked them to identify the symptoms they are currently experiencing due to their stress levels and they responded with these symptoms: Sleep disturbances Anxiety Constantly thinking about … [Read more...]

Self compassion is a key component of living a Growth in Motion!! lifestyle. It is an important aspect of self empowerment. Growth in Motion™!! = Self Care + Self Empowerment + Self Knowledge + Self Direction The ‘self’ implies a focus on “me” or “I” and can be defined as our personality, identity, or character. Within the word compassion is the word compass. There is also the word passion. When I think of the word compass, I think of a device with a magnetic needle that helps me determine my sense of direction. The dictionary says that compass means to comprehend, to travel entirely around, or to get into one's possession or power. And passion is defined as excitement, emotion, intense feeling and love. Thus, compassion empowers, supports, comforts, and fosters … [Read more...]

To concentrate is to place your full attention on one object. This means that you are making a choice to notice or give consideration to only one thing. It requires one to be still and focus. The one thing may be a person, place, idea, class work assignment, etc. For most people, concentration is hard because the mind, like the body, likes to move and is uncomfortable with stillness. Typically, most of us choose to live in a way that is complex. For example, as a college student, I often chose to study at the library - with friends. While there, we each sat within close proximity to each other and this led to “side conversations” throughout our designated study time. The conversations could be about anything from what we were planning to do on the weekend to how hard the last exam … [Read more...]

Psychologist Abraham Maslow was a phenomenal researcher of life who shared with the world (along with his colleagues Goldstein and Rogers) the term ‘self-actualization.’ He defined self-actualization to be the drive for self-fulfilment, namely the tendency for the individual to become their fully realized self at their highest potential. With this background knowledge and my own experiences, I define self discovery as the process of embracing one’s highest self. It is aligned with my definition of Growth in Motion!! which means your fully realized self. Thus, self discovery is an ongoing combination of actions we take as we change and grow throughout life. And, when we add conscious intention to the process of self discovery, we open our minds and hearts to uncover things that can … [Read more...]

To be accountable means to be in charge, responsible, or mature about your life experiences. And in the context of ‘radical personal accountability,’ to be radical is to be an activist, innovative, and uncompromising about your total well-being. When you agree to live a Growth in Motion!! lifestyle, you are consciously agreeing to accept radical personal responsibility. It means you commit to looking inside yourself to understand the deeper meaning of your upsets and tendencies to blame others. You begin to realize that your experience of the world is determined by the way in which you perceive it and respond to it. Throughout the process of acquiring radical personal responsibility (which occurs over a lifetime), your insights help you to make the internal changes that are … [Read more...]

On March 12, 2011, I met an 80 year old woman who didn’t look a day over 50! Clearly, she was a woman living a Growth in Motion!!™ lifestyle She was one of the participants at the Women’s Leadership Conference at Clemson University and she contributed lots of wisdom. After delivering the 1st part of my speech, she approached me and thanked me for the wisdom I shared about authenticity. And after the 2nd part of my speech, she re-approached my product table and purchased one of my audio programs. I hugged her and thanked her for being there and for being an inspiration to us all. Based on my interaction with her and observation of her, I could tell that she consciously practices self care, self empowerment, and self direction through radical self responsibility. She was … [Read more...]

Self care is a key element of the Growth in Motion process… and 'doing nothing' is a key element of self care, better known as ‘rest.’ When school is out there are no more final papers and exams to worry about, it's a time to relax and rejuvenate yourself before returning to school. After all, you've been working hard over the past year. But, if you think like I did while I was in college, you may have scheduled a lot on your ‘to-do list’ for the summer. Or you may be spending lots of energy worrying about something yet to come. One of those things on your ‘to-do’ list may be: work to make some money to use for next year’s expenses. If so, I celebrate your commitment to yourself! At the same time, I want to remind you to schedule sometime into your days to ‘do … [Read more...]

Your day starts on the “right” side of the bed and you go to classes feeling energized and ready to take on anything. You are alert, prepared, and focused and all seems to be flowing smoothly. As the day progresses, you begin to slow down, start to yawn, creativity takes a “back seat” and you feel like you could go home and crawl into bed. And somewhere around 3-4pm, it hits you like a ton of bricks. You feel depleted and now your thoughts are racing inside your head saying “I don’t feel like studying tonight; and I have sooooo much to do!” Sound familiar? Daytime fatigue can sneak up on you in what seems like a “second” after having moved through the first part of the day with lots of energy. But what exactly causes it? Well, here are some things that may be slowing … [Read more...]

What is Consciousness? Has anyone ever asked you this question? Have you ever asked yourself this question? It has become a very popular word in our present day society but do we really know what it means? Well, the term “consciousness” means the awareness of being aware. And what we are aware of is what we notice, what we perceive, or what we realize in our everyday lives. So, the next question is, “what are you aware of and is this improving your life or making it more difficult?” As a college student, you may answer with any one of the following: “I’m aware of my grades” “I’m aware of my friends, professors, fraternity/sorority, etc.” “I’m aware of time” “I’m aware of my body” “I’m aware of my roommate’s lack of consideration for … [Read more...]

Have you ever used any of the following phrases to describe another human being? He’s so irresistible! She has a magnetic personality! I feel like I can talk to him about anything! She makes me feel like a million bucks! Each of the above expressions is a different way to express one’s magnetism. You can probably think of so many more to add to the list. Magnetism is another word for charisma, charm, or pull. And you don’t have to be around a person very long to feel the power of it. Some people effortlessly express it while others have to work a little more to increase their magnetism. Why is this so? Well, some of us figure out the formula early on while others have to learn it through relationships. There’s no doubt that we all possess magnetism, however, we must … [Read more...]

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at Clemson University for their Annual Women’s Leadership Conference. I was surprised to see attendees ranging in age from late teens to 80 years old! It was wonderful to see the support of approximately 130 undergraduate students, graduate students, alumni, and participants from surrounding colleges and universities. I want to thank Carrie Tucker and Lauren Kennedy for extending kind “southern hospitality” to this northern native! It was evident that they worked extremely long hours to bring such a thorough and inspiring conference to manifestation and everything flowed with ease. Centered around the theme, Our Authentic Selves: Show Me What You’re Made Of, there were several breakout sessions including topics such as balancing your … [Read more...]

Have you ever heard the phrase “honesty is the best policy?” Where did that phrase come from? I mean, there are so many situations that clearly reveal that honesty will either hurt or destroy the relationship! For instance, you were out with friends at a campus event and met this really nice guy who made you feel like no other person ever has. In fact, he made you feel so much better about yourself than your current partner (who you’ve mutually agreed to be in a committed relationship with). So, because you are charmed by the wonderful attention that you are receiving, you decide that you want to see him again. And he really gets how much you are attracted to him so he asks you out on a date. You say “yes” without even thinking about your current committed relationship. You … [Read more...]

Do you often get last minute requests from friends or family members just after the moment you decided to carve out quality time for yourself? Have you noticed a habit of giving your time and energy to projects or people and at the end of the day you feel exhausted or dissatisfied with the outcome? Do you frequently think “when is it my turn to get what I want?” If you answered yes to any of these questions, there is a good chance that you are engaging in self-sabotage. When something is important to us, we want to take care of it, protect it, and maintain it. And when important things or people in our lives have a perceived value, the risks are even higher. In fact, we will put aside, deny or jeopardize our own needs and well being to provide for those we consider important and … [Read more...]

Do you feel like you are always hurrying to get things done? Are you suffering from burnout? Does it feel like you hardly ever get your needs met? If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, you could be going through a very important life lesson. That lesson is learning how to become wise about the pressures of the world. It may feel like a drag now but you will be thankful for learning this lesson as you move beyond college and into the next phase of your life! If the above questions don’t resonate with you, perhaps the following “pressure indicators” will generate some discussion in your mind. Do you often find yourself saying…? I need something new in my life I have to get this done today I don’t want to waste any time What am I going to focus … [Read more...]

Do you often think about what you want to become or be after college and then feel a fair amount of pressure because you haven’t figured it out yet? Well, to truly grow into what you really enjoy and what makes you happy for no reason at all, you must make small everyday choices that lead to long term satisfaction, peace, and overall success. If you practice making authentic choices consistently, your choice of job or career will be an extension of who you are. Make sure that what you think you want, say you want, and what you actually do match up. Print out and post this “choice list” in a place that you visit often to help you get started with tiny steps that lead to mega results in the long run – in all areas of your life! I choose to stretch and move, not sit I choose … [Read more...]

Do you feel like you are overwhelmed and things seem to be speeding up? Are you tired of being tired? Need a break? You might be due for a “stress check up!” One of the most effective early warning signs of a mental or physical imbalance is the development of a pessimistic outlook. And once that belief takes root in us, we start to feel irritability, frustration, anger, sadness or sometimes we even lose hope or faith in ourselves and our abilities. I call it the “tired of being tired syndrome.” It can creep up on you when you are placing minimal attention on your needs and maximum attention on all the things that you have to get done. Some other indicators of the “tired of being tired syndrome” include: Insomnia Constantly ripping and running or rushing Loss of … [Read more...]

College students can have very stressful lives. When I was in college, it was commonplace for “information overload” to send us into some of the deepest hours of sleep because we were so worn out from all of those hundreds of chapters of reading material! On many occasions (too many to count), I fell asleep while reading, only to wake up and discover that I lost a lot of valuable study time! During those days, we didn’t use a lot of resources for help. We just “pushed” our way through it all. There was one key thing that I did to regenerate my energy and it worked out to be extremely effective for me. (I must point out that there was no cable television, laptops, internet, or technologically advanced contraptions in our dorms!) I didn’t understand the power of it at the time … [Read more...]

Recently, I participated in a 21 week live tele-training course entitled the Mentorship and Manifestation Circle. It was an opportunity to expand my manifestation skill set and to unite with dynamic, powerful, empowered, and purposeful women. Our facilitator assigned “lifework” assignments which are similar to “homework” assignments; however, the focus was on one’s life instead of a book, term paper, or speech. The idea was to place attention on daily life experiences and learn from them via an assigned activity. Well, one specific assignment was to go on an “appreciation rampage.” Our mission was to notice simple opportunities to send appreciation to another person(s) and take action on them. The value of this exercise was priceless. It taught us to place our attention on … [Read more...]

Your heart is the core of who you are. Your mind is the instrument of your heart. Emotion is behind thinking. And your “unsettled” emotions are buried very deep within your heart which feeds every cell of your body. Therefore, it is critical that we understand the physical, emotional, and energetic workings of our heart. Living from the heart is all about placing your consciousness in your heart and practicing it daily. It is about placing your intention, attention, and focus on the center point of your very existence - your heart. So how do we begin living from the heart? Well, this may sound so basic but 1st, we must locate our physical heartbeat within our chest. A simple way to do this is to place your right hand on the center of your chest and feel the beat of your heart. If … [Read more...]

Recently, I was perusing the dictionary because I wanted to see what it said about this word "understanding." Some synonyms shared were: comprehend, absorb, appreciate, identify with, empathize, be familiar with, and value. And in the context of personal growth, to understand is to be willing to empathize with others, be in tune with our emotional selves, and to value individual differences - even when we don't agree with them. Thus the process of understanding involves a high level of mental, emotional, and spiritual awareness. To comprehend, we use our mind, to empathize, we use our emotion, and to appreciate, we must tap into our heart (which houses our spirit). When one or more of these perspectives is under-represented, it is a challenge to have understanding and when all three … [Read more...]

To be authentic is to be real, transparent, truthful, or honest. Within the word relationships are the words "relate" and "ship." Some synonyms for "relate" include communication, link up, share, connect, and cooperate. When I think of the word "ship," I think of a boat, cruise ship, vessel, or something that carries or transports people or goods. As I reflect upon all of these separate ideas of the words authentic relationships, I am humbled because the underlying meaning of these words is all about transparency, care, connection, cooperation, commitment, communication and character. I had to stop and ask myself, "Are my closest relationships authentic relationships?" My honest answer was "no, not all of them." Then, I began to think about my past and current relationships and mentally … [Read more...]

Responsibility begins in the mind and is deepened via the heart. To be empowered is to have internal authority. And to have internal authority is to have the ability to observe our thoughts and feelings and make conscious choices that are correct for us. This means that our choices come from response rather than reaction. When we respond, we step back and observe our thoughts and feelings. Next, we remember our core values and then finally, we consciously choose the action to take. On the other hand, when we are in reaction mode, we immediately take action based on our current beliefs and emotional state. Often times, our beliefs come from family, society, culture, environment, or our individual experiences. They are embedded within us very deeply – many times beyond our conscious … [Read more...]

Within the word compassion is the word compass. There is also the word passion. When I think of the word compass, I think of a device with a magnetic needle that helps me determine my sense of direction. When I explored the meaning of the word in the dictionary, I also found that compass means to comprehend, to travel entirely around, or to get into one's possession or power. This discovery was like a revelation for me because when I read those words "direction" and tapping into "one's power," it was like dancing at the Greek party on a Friday night to my favorite “house music!” Yes, indeed, those words meant a lot me. I then looked for the definition of passion. I found the following: obsession, excitement, anger, sexual desire, emotion, intense feeling and love. These words … [Read more...]

Healthy relationships start with a focus on self-care and well-being. That is the philosophy I shared with Voorhees College students during my recent visit to their campus. When I asked the question, “What is most important to you in your relationships?” I received answers like trust, communication, love and respect. The idea of practicing self-care as a foundation for healthy relationships appeared to be a new paradigm for them. I can understand, though, because several years ago, it became a new paradigm for me as well. Through my own learning experiences, I have concluded that taking care of me is critical to the health of my relationships with others. And “taking care of me” includes my mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being. When a person has a solid … [Read more...]

In Latin the term "cor" means heart. In French the term "cour" means to be in the process. And in English the word courage means "the state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger or hardship resolutely." Therefore, when one is said to have courage, she/he is in the process of connecting with her heart (or core self) as challenges arise so that she is able to understand them and take correct action. When we think about someone with courage, oftentimes we think about a person who is bold, assertive, brave, gutsy, spunky, confident and strong. And many times, it centers on a specific task that they handled "well." Think about three people you interact with on campus that you would describe as courageous based on this description. Courage is powerful in and of itself … [Read more...]

A seed represents the beginning or starting point of all living things. Inside of the seed is all that is needed to grow into something magnificent. There is nothing to add, subtract or change within the seed to produce its harvest. And the most amazing part is that, given the proper conditions for growth, one tiny seed will produce so much more than itself. To be great is to be massive, to be talented, and to be important. Each and every one of us is born from a seed that already contains greatness! Ask yourself, "Do I feel important? Do I believe I can truly make a difference in my life, my family, my community, my campus or my world?" Even in the midst of upsets with your parents, roommate, significant other or even yourself, you are still a seed of greatness. You are great just … [Read more...]

To have a harvest is to have a return, a yield, a collection of some sort. It also implies that we give, express or put something "out there" and, by nature, receive something back. This past summer, my family planted seeds in our garden. We gave our effort in the form of time, physical labor and patience with a positive expectation that we would receive something in return - a harvest of various vegetables. Question for Reflection: When you give your time, effort and energy to your partner, friend, job or even a 30-page term paper, do you look forward to a positive return? If the answer is "yes" for many issues, relationships and circumstances that you encounter in life, you probably feel self-confident, powerful, valued and tremendously blessed! If the answer is "no" for key areas … [Read more...]

Do you suffer from burnout, exhaustion or overwhelm? Trying to find the right balance in college? If so, you may be a victim of emotional overload. Emotional overload is that place we all come to when we say things like “I can’t take it anymore,” “This is too much for me to handle,” “He/she just doesn’t understand,” or “What’s the use? It won’t happen or work anyway!” Most of us run around doing, doing, doing and then one day realize that we have little “juice” or energy to do the things we really want to do. It is similar to running a battery down to the point where it will not charge anymore. Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly, we continue to deplete our energy without recharging our “batteries.” Well, the next time you find yourself experiencing that … [Read more...]