Let's Talk About Honesty...

"Have the courage to take life in your hands." - Salma Hayek

The hardest thing to do is to sit still and exam our inner selves, to uncover the good, the bad, and the ugly parts that make us who we are. As well as, the dreams we never dare to acknowledge and the endless string of excuses preventing us from pursuing them. To me, this is what it means to be human. However, few people takes the time to engage in self-reflection. Instead, we tend to focus on the flaws of others and ignore the disarray in our own lives. It takes immense courage to look inward and confront the truth about ourselves. Socrates said it well, An unexamined life is not worth living.

This year, I've decided to step out of my comfort zone by leaving my current job. Updating my resume was the first step, but I struggled with fear and excuses for over three weeks.

For so many years, every time someone left our company, I've been telling myself and other foreigners that I personally can't resign because I have a guaranteed visa with this job. Unbelievable but true, I've been holding back from job searching because of the false belief that I have a guaranteed visa with my current job. Again and again, I kept discouraging myself from looking for new employment and use the unfortunate experience of one of our colleagues as an example. He got a new position and quit, but the new employer was unable to supply him with a visa. By leaving the company and paying for the three months' notice he was required to give, he not only forfeited his annual bonus but also suffered significant financial loss.

Another one of my go-to excuses is that I am unqualified, while I am succeeding and shining somehow here, I won't be able to replicate this success elsewhere since I don't speak English like a native speaker, I don’t have enough school certificates and I ain't this or that.

I just realized now, how much energy I put into shutting down my inside voice telling me: you deserve better and can do better than this, the world is full of opportunities. I kept coming up with a flow of excuses to shut down the voice inside me that wants to be better and do better.

To muster up the COURAGE to sit down and update my resume, I had to hunt for motivation on YouTube, thanks God for Mel Robbins. I came across this episode of hers “Start The Journey Of Manifesting Your Dreams & Making Them Reality”, and boy her words were the push I needed, they gave me the boost to tackle down this assignment.

A passage in this episode really struck a nerve, it is about HONESTY, being honest with oneself, and claiming what we want. Admitting our dreams can be scary, but it's the energy we put into avoiding them that should really scare us more.

To acknowledge our dreams, we must first overcome the excuses and fears that hold us back. We often downplay our aspirations by making jokes about them or creating a long list of reasons why we can't make them happen. But by doing so, we distance ourselves from what we truly want and deserve. To truly embrace our dreams, we must face our fears and ask ourselves "what if I can make it happen?" and "how can I start?" By allowing ourselves to feel the possibilities and desire, we can ignite the flame within us and bring our dreams to life.

I will no longer put a lid on my dreams and keep them to myself; instead, I declare them and claim them here and now : "I want to work for a startup company that is successful, has a small team, is in the activewear, hosiery, publishing, or education industries, has a diverse staff, and offers me the opportunity to grow, become my best self, prosper financially, connect with others, acquire useful skills, and find the right people to assist me in creating LD Academy. A place where I work remotely, have flexible hours, take unlimited yearly leave, travel, go on vacation, or just take time off to study and grow. I intend to be in a creative setting where I see my ideas come to life and use parts of my brain I didn't know I had to help develop life-changing products."

To wrap up this post on honesty, here's a simple tip that can help you stay motivated: Every morning when you wake up, take a piece of paper and write down 5 of your dreams and ask yourself the following question: am I for or against my dreams?. This daily exercise can help keep your aspirations in focus, and serve as a reminder of what you're working towards. Remember, as Viola Davis once said, "Your dreams of a better life have to be bigger than your fears." By facing your fears and embracing your dreams, you can find the courage to take the first step towards a brighter future.

Yours Truly,

The Queen Of Africa