As December comes to an end and a new chapter is on the horizon, I find myself, like many reflecting back on the last 12 months and over analyzing how it went. Each and every year I lose perspective on the positive things I’ve experienced and instead focused on the negative aspects, never truly appreciating all that I did accomplish and carrying those negative vibes unintentionally into the next chapter. I’ve looked at things wrong, time and time again without meaning to. Well, not this new year coming. Instead of focusing and reflecting on what didn’t happen, I’m focusing on the things that did.
Controlling your Thoughts
I never gave much consideration to the importance of maintaining a positive attitude at all times through life. I’ve always been negative Nelly, and the funny thing is I had no idea I was negative. To me, I thought I was being realistic. Accepting that things failed, crashed or burned and I approached it as if it was expected never realizing I was sabotaging myself by doing so.
If you don’t try you can’t succeed, but if you don’t try, you won’t fail either. Unfortunately, I’ve discovered that I’ve looked at it from the failure side because it’s what I always expected. It wasn’t gonna succeed. From conception to end it was a failing waste of time. It’s just the way things went for me in life and I accepted it. “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have none” is the negative energy I kept in my life. It’s easy to get caught up in the bad and forget the good, but you have to learn to train your thoughts. When you think of a negative aspect of anything, stop yourself, correct yourself out loud and follow those negative thoughts with positive thoughts and accomplishments… even if you haven’t reached them yet.
Fake it ’til ya Make it!
Confidence is 75% of success. The rest is made of hard work and determination. That is a formula I have always believed in but never truly committed to. You can have confidence in success before success even comes your way. Starting your day with positive affirmations, specific affirmations for exactly what you want to happen in that day truly helps manifest them into reality. Don’t have a million subscribers? Pretend you do. Address things as if they were there. Visualize them watching, reading and enjoying your time and energy just as much as you’re enjoying them. As a blogger and vlogger, I rely on statistics to tell me how things are going, and to be honest… I’ve let his blog go without commitment or regard and it shows. It’s my own fault it hasn’t succeeded, but yet I couldn’t see that it was. I became envious and jealous of others success and became even more depressed and certain I would never have 1/3 of what others do. Thats the problem. My story isn’t theirs. Their story isn’t mine, so why am I comparing the two? It has taken me 52 years to REALLY understand this. But I finally do. I had my Ah-ha moment.
The Ah-Ha Moment
I bought an audio book, and it was life changing in my thought process and showed me how I need to actively participate in my thoughts in a positive manner every single day to achieve my dreams. Anything forward is a success. One more subscriber. One more like. One more reader… who says success has to be measured by size and amount? Society has conditioned us to believe that in order to be considered successful you must be rich, viral or a household name and that’s just not true. Success comes in steps, steps that you manifest. Some are big and elaborate while others are simple and refined and you must learn to thank God and thank the Universe for every step that you have achieved and every step still coming. I find myself happily thanking them both multiple times in the day. This new mindset changes your soul in a good way.
Once I realized that although God has a plan for me, I also have a plan and the two can connect easily with the right mindset I knew I was on my way. I started a new business this year (2025) as a furniture artist and the response to my work is encouraging and revitalizing. My husband is remodeling our old horse barn into my dream studio. It’s almost done, and I am so excited! I feel rejuvenated with this amazing opportunity, and I won’t be wasting any time or energy in 2025. The glass is half full.
I wake each and every day and I journal while enjoying my coffee in the quiet of my home. I focus on the things I want to accomplish today and thank God and the Universe for the opportunity to attain those goals and dreams before I have even reached them. The daily entries are all positive. I have reflected on nothing negative. Instead, I have found the positive in life itself. I’ve also discovered that success might not look like what I think it should look like. Success comes in many forms. Just make sure you’re ready for it when it arrives. Confidence is key. I have seen the results for myself, and the turnaround was instantaneous. Those positive thoughts and vibes and the sincere gratefulness I have for everything in my life brings everything else I want within reach. It’s amazing how changing your mindset can really change your life. Don’t get me wrong, I correct my negative thinking a few times a day still and I probably will for a long time. But by correcting and recognizing this in myself I know one day it won’t be a thought, or an intention… it’ll just be.
The Plan
On December 31, 2024, at 11:59pm I will turn the page of my life. The new page is blank and starkly white. It would be intimidating if I wasn’t confident in this new chapter, but I am confident. My new business: The Sophisticated Fox is my dream come true. A studio where I can create beauty in the mundane and feed my soul. I love creating and designing and turning something into nothing. My business is going to be a success. My blog is going to be a success and my YouTube channel She’s in Her Element is going to continue to grow and be successful. I will achieve the success of these three ventures through positive affirmations, clear and concise manifestation and hard work, lots of hard work. And you can too. Practice positive thinking. It isn’t easy but it’s worth it. Positive thinking truly works and can manifest your dreams. Will you start your new chapter practicing this?
I hope you will all join me on this new chapter of life and follow along through this blog and my YouTube channels. I’m so excited to start this journey.
XOXO ~ Shawn