Do these four things on your birthday to set in motion success for the y...

Festival Del Mar 2014, Island Harbour, Anguilla

My Anguilla Experience - My Top Five Favourite Beaches in Anguilla - Cro...

My Anguilla Experience - lunch at Shoal Bay beach in Anguilla

A walk with the Anguilla National Trust

I feel inspired. I feel brave!

 I feel inspired. I feel empowered. I feel that I can do anything that I set my mind to! 

Honestly that is how I feel. I am in love with this feeling. I know in the past this feeling has guided me to do revolutionary things in my personal and professional life. I know that I accomplished many of the things I set out to do. However, the challenge is remaining inspired all the time. Somewhere along the path the following distractions always seemed to raise their ugly heads. These include hectic schedules filled with things I cared a lot about but too many I cared very little about, well-meaning but distracting friends, family and colleagues, lazy summer days and/or just a general lack of enthusiasm based on my work environment and/or the political and economic climate. 

However, wouldn’t it be lovely if this undeniable magnetic energy and gung-ho and motivated attitude could be bottled and released whenever we needed an energy boost? I certainly think so. If I could share how I feel with all of you now, I certainly would.

This week, I was fortunate enough to be involved in a CDB Train the Trainers workshop for marketing for small hotels in St. Lucia. The workshop exceeded my expectations because I truly feel that I walked away with so much more value than simply knowledge about marketing. I feel that the workshop provided an opportunity and avenue for introspection that I really needed especially concerning my professional life. I had already started to make strides in making some changes but I feel that this past week has given me the extra push and will power that I needed to run instead of walking at a leisurely pace.

Life is interesting because you don’t know who you will meet or maybe what you will hear or what you will do that will lift your mood, motivate, inspire, empower or simply change your life for the best.  

I have met some amazing, inspiring people along my life’s journey so far. However, the set that I met during this last week came along just when I needed them to. They are entrepreneurs and budding entrepreneurs, fitness enthusiast and trainers who just want to bring out the best in those they interact with. They inspired and they encouraged and I feel richer for having met them.

 Today, I believe I can do anything that I put my mind to. I can remain focused. I can be brave.

How about you? Do you inspire others by the things you say and do? Have you met someone who has truly inspired you to do more and be more?

If you haven’t, then you need to expand your circle to persons who can help you to reach your full potential. If there is something you have been meaning to do today big or small, I hope that I may be a voice of positivity and inspiration. Go for it! The world really has too many people who continue to say ‘I could have or I should have’ instead of ‘I did It.’

I intend to say ‘I DID IT.’ Let’s make and deal and do whatever ‘it’ is today.

Drop me a line to say you did it!

The 'Hustle.' What's your hustle?

What's your hustle?


The urban dictionary defines hustling as 'doing anything to make money even if it is a bit shady or illegal.' I'm not talking about illegal hustling. Let's make that clear. 

Hustling is nothing new to Anguilla's context but it seems that more people are adopting the 'hustle' mentality.

I seem to be hearing this word a lot more lately. Most times when I hear it though, I am pretty confident that the hustling to be done is not illegal or shady. In many cases, the hustle is something positive.

Everyone wants to do more and earn a dollar or an additional dollar. What I admire about 'the hustle' is the entrepreneurial spirit it evokes in many. I have noted more persons are using innate talents and skills whether it is singing, dancing, playing an instrument, drawing, designing etc. to make a dollar. There are more small businesses opening, more events being planned and more energy in and about the island. Kudos, to all the persons who have found a way to make an honest dollar. Just do it right.  Ensure you have the correct licenses and permission and continue to do your thing. Dream big!

I have noticed also there is another hustle going on. This hustle slowed down during the 'cold' months but now everyone is back on their 'hustle.' Yes I am talking about exercise.

The roads are buzzing, the gyms are packed and the 'Biggest Loser competitions ' and 'Boot Camps' have no shortage of participants.

I just want to remind everyone who is striving for a summer body, that proper diet and exercise should be a year round activity for our general well-being. Keep doing your thing and don't stop exercising after Carnival.

There are a lot more trainers and persons who exercise year round so even if your friends don't want to 'hustle' in December to March when it is dark and cold, don't let that stop you.

I want to shout out to our small group of year round fitness 'hustlers.' You can find us on the park three days a week from 5:30am whether it is dark without a moon or sunshiny bright like it is currently.

If you are looking for a small group to get your fitness 'hustle' on with, do send me a message.

Today, get your fitness and entrepreneurial 'hustle' on.

Don't forget to check out my website My Anguilla Experience for more interesting stories on what's going on with me in Anguilla.

My Grocery Shopping Experience or Insert CCC here – When Customer Service Ideas go horribly wrong!

 

As you know, I take an ample interest in customer service. In fact, I teach a course called Personal and Professional Development at the Comprehensive Learning Centre where Customer Service is one of four elements discussed.

Thus I looked on first with interest and guarded approval when I noted that grocery stores were introducing loyalty cards/programmes and also introducing the concept of an express lane.

With one grocery store in particular, my interest soon turned to dismay when I noted that the loyalty cards and express lane were not functioning as they are supposed to, if the goal was to provide an additional service and exceed customer’s expectations.

I will speak first from my experience with the loyalty card. The week, Nash and I got married we went to the store (because we love to eat) and they asked us if we wanted to sign up. We thought this is great. We could realise some savings or so we thought. Each week since then, we have continued to shop at this store. Each week we are asked for our number so they can check if it has been entered into the system. Each week, the answer is ‘I’m sorry, your number has not yet been entered’ with an apologetic looking face from the cashier’ often accompanied by a peppy ‘Better luck next week’ or my preference, a shrug of the shoulders as the cashiers honestly are not equipped with a helpful response.

 

OK. So it has been 10 weeks and that has been my experience with the loyalty programme. Unfortunately, it seems that many others are experiencing the same problem. While new programmes will have their issues, I am not aware if this issue is being dealt with by management.

The funny thing is, prior to the introduction of this programme, most customers were  doing their shopping without any concerns about getting future points or discounts on purchases or without any high expectations for customer service. 

This store raised expectations among customers and then fell far below meeting those expectations. The result has been unhappy customers or in my case a simply amused and bewildered customer.  How did something which has been done around the world become so complicated? The store can get it right, if it makes a genuine effort.

A simple starting measure would be to empower the cashiers to take the names of those who are not yet in the system so that contact can be made with those responsible for inputting the information to ensure it is done. Everything must be done with the aim of exceeding the customer’s expectations.

Let’s talk briefly now about the express lane where a sign clearly states under ten items. I encountered a friend the other day who was blue mad as she was made to stand in the express lane with 3 items for over a half an hour as persons with loaded carts were checked. When she enquired with the cashier as to whether or not she could be checked with her three items she was told ‘everyone will get checked eventually.’ She enquired about the futility of the sign and asked why it exists.

Once again the store in mind has failed their customers. There was an expectation of a certain level and type of service being provided and once again the ability to meet customer expectations hit rock bottom.

Many businesses are patronised not because of the service they provide but simply because of the price or availability of certain items.

Most persons will not stop shopping at a grocery store or any other store because of bad service because our choices are limited. However, our island is rapidly changing and expanding and to retain customer loyalty, businesses must get their act together or risk losing business not today or tomorrow but perhaps in the medium to long term.

I went shopping yesterday and asked the cashier what are my options for this loyalty programme. She said I could sign up again. So I did to test their system once again.

 

Will they exceed my expectations this time? It really shouldn’t be too difficult because as a customer my expectations are quite low now.

If you are providing a service of any kind, ensure that today you meet and exceed the expectations of your customers. Build customer loyalty effectively today.

 

They say a bird in hand is worth two in the bush...

The Zenaida Aurita most commonly referred to in Anguilla as the turtle dove is our national bird. It has a certain beauty and grace about it. I don’t know how I feel about one of these birds making their nest in one of my flower pots on the front porch though.

For the first two days I couldn’t understand why every time I started climbing the stairs to my porch a turtle dove would fly right pass me startling me each time. On the third day I noted that it came from the flower pot and that is when I discovered the egg which later became two eggs.

My heart melted and I decided maybe the turtle dove and I could coexist. All was going well until one day the turtle dove got confused and was just flying from side to side on the porch and I was trapped in the middle. I ran down the stairs and to the other end of the yard since I was scared it would fly into me.

Nash who was observing couldn’t stop laughing. The turtle dove then flew between the bannisters and appeared to be stuck. Apparently, Nash says that turtle doves will always provide a distraction to protect their eggs so I didn’t know if this was an elaborate ploy by the turtle dove. Apparently it was.

Fortunately, I made it indoors safely. Despite this setback, the turtle dove and I have still been able to co-exist. He has not displayed any erratic behavior since this day but I am still rather cautious around her.

I hope I am around to witness the little baby birds hatching. That would be so cool. Don’t you agree?

So for right now in addition to our new puppy 'Vision', we also have the company of this turtle dove. Life is just peachy :).

I hope you say yes to noticing and enjoying the small pleasures in life today.

The Newest Addition to the Johnson Family

In life nothing is constant. We grow, we change, we regress and even if we remain stagnant, things are changing all around us.

I say all this to say that it seems that I have gone from the viewpoint, ‘I hate dogs’ to ‘some dogs are ok if they don’t get too close’ to ‘we now have our very own puppy and I adore him.’ Yes, you heard it here first.

On April 08^th 2013, Nash and I visited the Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation Shelter (AARF). There we were introduced to some beautiful puppies and I even held a few of them (yes, I still can’t believe how natural it felt for me to cuddle with a puppy). They were so cute and we liked so many of them. Unfortunately, we could only take one and we took a male long puppy known in the shelter as ‘Ra’. Isn’t he adorable?

 

The volunteers at the shelter were very friendly and helpful. We would like to extend appreciation to the staff and volunteers at the Shelter for making our first adoption so easy.

We have since renamed ‘Ra’ ‘Vision.’ Don’t ask where the name came from. We like itJ . We took Vision home with us and the funniest scene played out. Our neighbour’s dog which is a beautiful, friendly dog came to greet us as he usually does in the afternoon. He was happy and playful. When Nash took Vision out of the car, the other dog’s countenance changed. He stepped behind me, he looked at Vision and then he turned on his heel put his head high and walked right out of our yard and back to his. We laughed so much.

He even barked at us a bit later something he has never done before. Nonetheless, he eventually came back and we became friends again. However, he refuses to come close to Vision and is quite jealous and we have Vision in a secondary enclosed section of the yard. It will be quite interesting to see how this relationship plays out.

 

Vision is becoming more courageous each day but  he so sweet. We look forward to a fun time and many years with our new puppy. For other blogs on a range of topics, do visit My Anguilla Experience website at http://www.myanguillaexperience.com/.

'My Beauty'

I attended a concert last night. The concert was primarily organised by a beautiful teacher with a positive attitude towards life and her students. The concert was a fundraiser and the funds will be used to assist and benefit a student suffering from cancer with his medical expenses. Please say a prayer for this student.

 It was a great concert and one thing is certain, great talent can be found in every nook and cranny of the Anguillian society. The teachers of the ALHCS are certainly a talented bunch.

I enjoyed all the songs, dances, dramatisations, fashion shows etc. When I was thinking about what to write about today, one item stood out in my mind though. It was a poem written by and presented by a teacher named Amethyst. The poem was entitled ‘My Beauty.’

The poem was well written and well presented. It is true that no one could have presented the poem better than the poet as the poem spoke to her feelings on the subject.

The poem covered many thought and ideas on ‘Beauty.’  For example, the poem delved into the heart of how women too often judge themselves extremely harshly on their physical appearance and how women too often engage in unrealistic comparisons with others including superstars.  

We all know that this happens all too regularly. I dare say that it is not only young girls who feel pressured to look a certain way, to always have their hair, nails and makeup done, dress a certain way, be a certain size – to fit in.

There is certainly no crime in looking good. I certainly feel good when I look good. The tragedy occurs when our self-worth is determined by how we look and it is equally tragic when we judge and criticise others because their appearance doesn’t meet our ‘standards.’

As women, we really do come in all sizes, shapes and colours and our beauty really isn’t about what’s on the outside. Sometimes a perfectly made up face is hiding years of hurt or the illusion of beauty quickly fades when you realise that an ugly attitude lurks behind the ‘face.’

Today, let us determine that while we will continue to take care of our physical appearance, we will focus more attention on what is really more important when it comes to beauty. It is our attitude and our outlook on life. It is our ability to give and to care and to love. It is about our passion and our ambitions. It is about finding time for family and spending time with friends sharing laughter and smiles. This is where true beauty lies. The rest is almost just an illusion. It is true that outward beauty fades.  When it is gone take a minute today to think about what will remain.

Say Yes to focusing more energy on improving your inner beautiful self today!

To read more about me, do check out my other blog My Anguilla Experience.

Thanks for reading!

It's Blessings! Not Luck.

Hi guys

Most of you would know by now that I recently got married. It feels amazing. Nash and I are happy (full stop, no buts, no excuses, no apologies).

During the week leading up to the wedding, I was reminded about the power of our thoughts by a good friend who came to Anguilla for my wedding. She is a woman of strong faith and optimism and I feel so inspired by her. I was speaking about how happy I was, and how lucky I felt. However, even though I felt so terrific, I allowed small, sneaky negative thoughts to invade my mind. I remember joking at one point...that something could happen which could result in me not making it to my wedding.

To paraphrase, my friend said in her lovely Bajan accent, nothing is going to happen to you Shellecia. She said that I will make it safe and sound to my wedding, it will be beautiful and that Nash and I will enjoy a wonderful life together. This is indeed the power of positive thoughts. She wasn't saying that things will always be perfect but she was certainly saying to enjoy my blessings (not luck) today without worrying about what could or could not happen in the future. The future wasn't in my hands anyway. Thanks D for this lovely reminder!

How about you? Do you allow those same sneaky thoughts to steal your joy? Most of us do. We seldom allow ourselves to feel complete happiness. Today, if you get an expected or unexpected blessing, just enjoy it! Say thank you and smile.


Nash and I have certainly been saying thank you and smiling even more than usual (if that is possible)! We have chosen to say yes to today everyday and to just give thanks for the blessing of life and each other.

If you want to read more about our story and see wedding photos do visit myanguillaexperience.com.

Thanks for reading and for sharing in our happiness!

My Anguilla Experience!

Hi everyone

Well it certainly has been a busy 2013 for me. I have been working on a few new projects, one of which I am excited to reveal today.  First let me say thanks for reading this blog. I love sharing my thoughts with you.

In fact, my blog post ‘Why I am never bored in Anguilla’ is the most popular blog I have written. In that blog I mentioned that I wanted to start a new blog about why I love Anguilla. Well I did. Today I officially launched myanguillaexperience.com. I am very excited about this blog so check it out and follow me. Please also follow me on twitter @ShelleciaB.

I thought that it would be really cool to put a local voice and face to the Anguillian experience. I am going to be getting out there and truly exploring Anguilla and what it has to offer and I hope that you will join me on this journey. This journey will be quite diverse and will cover areas such as exploring our beaches, trying new restaurants and visiting attractions to my attempts to cook local recipes like conky dumplings and pea soup (all my friends are laughing now) and will even include my Anguilla wedding and honeymoon.

I look forward to your suggestions on what I should do.

I encourage you to go and visit myanguillaexperience.com right now and follow me on twitter.

For all the readers of say-yes-to-today.blogspot.com, I will still be writing this blog and I look forward to your continued support of both blogs in 2013.

Remember, with vision and determination, all your dreams, hopes and goals can come true. Say Yes to Success and raise your glasses to love, health and happiness today! Cheers!

Beautiful

A sunny day, a pretty flower, the singing of a humming bird, a perfectly formed snowflake, a smile from a stranger, the laughter of a baby…

Any one of these things, events, and moments can help to turn a grey mood into a bright and cheerful mood, a grey day into a sun-filled day, a frown into a smile.

Let’s do ourselves and the world a favour today and pay attention to God’s free gifts which surround us.

As I type this, I am sitting in my office. It is 3pm. I still have an hour more at work. I can hear the laughter and chatter of my coworkers. I can see a large vase with an orchid on my desk along with sea stones at the base. I glance at my office calendar  which has a picture of a little boy with a big grin which just brightens up the room.  In this moment, I choose to forget what may be wrong or negative or sad or annoying or distracting. I choose to focus on what’s beautiful instead.

Stop right now wherever you are and whatever you are doing and identify three things which you can see, hear, feel, taste every day but fail to appreciate for the little joys they bring to your life whether it is at work, home or play.

Savour them, enjoy them, breathe in slowly, relax and smile.

Have a great Friday and Weekend everyone!

3 things to leave behind in 2012 and 5 things to take forward into 2013

A new year is a time for life changes or at least a time to make plans for life changes. While sometimes our plans, resolutions or even SMART goals fall through...there are three things we should definitely resolve not to take into 2013 and five things we should definitely decide that we should. See my list below.

Top 3 things to leave behind in 2012

1)    Grudges ( nothing weighs you down more than a grudge that you carry with you from year to year – best advice – lose the extra mental weight and instantly the New Year will be lighter and brighter.

2)    Dirty Laundry – figuratively and literally – If you are keeping a dirty secret or engaged in behaviour which you aren’t proud of, leave it behind in 2012. Don’t take 2012’s drama into 2013.

3)    Bad Habits – We keep hearing this one like a broken record because it is true. We can’t break a bad habit over night but we can certainly start to take steps to get rid of bad habits at the beginning of the year.

Top 5 things to take into the New Year

1)    Start the New Year with a smile. Self explanatory but here goes anyway. When you smile, the world smiles back and even if it doesn’t, it takes more muscles to frown than to smile (cliché indeed but true)!

2)    Prayer – It’s simple. Prayer changes things. Keep praying!

3)    SMART Goals – Even though you may not have kept your resolutions or SMART goals last year, it is still useful to go into a New Year knowing what you would like to achieve. As the saying goes ‘if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.’

4)    One word which will be your key word for the year. This word will guide your decisions, motivate you and keep you grounded.  My word for 2013 is ‘Forward.’ Expect to see this word in blogs for 2013.

5)    Good Friends - New friends are silver, old friends are gold…hold on tightly to friends as true ones are hard to find.

Well I hope you find this list useful. Drop me a comment and let me know what other things we should leave behind in 2012 and what other things we should take forward into 2013.

I hope to hear from you. Thanks for reading!

Pretty Smiles (Hanging with Lakisha  and some of Sherise other friends in London 2012)

Remembering 2012 and seriously getting excited about 2013

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

I am excited. Personally 2012 was a spectacular year. So many wonderful things happened during the year and I give infinite thanks.

Highlights of my year included celebrating another birth year, getting engaged (see photo below), home ownership, watching my sister graduate, fantastic vacations, teaching the Personal and Professional Development course at the Comprehensive Learning Centre to fabulous students, Presidency of the Optimist Club of Anguilla which was a great learning and growing experience and so much more.

When I asked Nash what the highlights of his year were his answer made me smile. He said they were the simple moments like 'seeing me smile, talking to his brother, waking up each day... this is why I love this man.

Photo credit - Signature7602 Studios

 

But I digress ... if you know me at all, you will know that I also get excited about something, anything big or small at least twice a day. You might hear me say

‘I am so excited to eat lunch’ or I am excited for a friend starting something new in his or her life or I am excited just because my love dropped by the office. I don’t ever want to lose my child like enthusiasm for what most would consider the mundane things in life.

So yes, even though 2012 was so spectacular, I don’t mind saying goodbye to it because I am excited about what lies ahead in 2013. If it is God’s will, I will celebrate my 30^th in 2013 (woo hoo – can we say 30 and fabulousJ. I will also marry the love of my life -I am so excited! Can anyone tell how many times I said excited or some version of this word in this blog?

How about you? What makes you excited? It is the season to be jolly so don’t be a scrooge. Get excited! Get happy. I certainly am. Say Yes to getting excited today.

Let me take this opportunity to say a very WARM THANK YOU to those who have subscribed to or read my blog. I hope this blog has inspired you in some way or at the very least made you chuckle :).  To my readers in North, South and Central America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and of course Anguilla please do continue to read  and share in 2013 and look out for a new blog coming soon!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year or Season Greetings from 'Say Yes to Today!'

My Grown up Christmas List

It is Christmas eve........How exciting!

We are called to be completely unselfish during Christmas because it is better to give than to receive…hmmmmm yeah (tries to keep serious face). So even though you and I will both be giving gifts this Christmas, I am sure there are some things we want though we may not necessarily need them. If I have a secret Santa out there, I would like a silk head scarf and silk pillowcases and a new phone and camera would be nice.

Ok now let me take off ‘the all about me’ cap and focus on the bigger picture. My desire would be for Anguilla to get out of this economic recession and for persons who are jobless to find jobs. My wish is that persons will no longer be losing their homes, land and other possessions. My hope is that everyone will heed the call to put down their weapons and stop the violence so we can regain the tranquility we were once known for. My prayer is that we will all stop to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas before getting caught up in the hustle and bustle and consumerism of the season.

Let us all just remember to add faith, hope and love to our grown up Christmas list and I am certain that the stars will shine brighter this Christmas season.

What do you hope to get from 'Santa' this year? Let me know!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plant a seed (2012) – Let it grow (2013)

Hi everyone

I had a fantastic vacation and I am back to Anguilla refreshed and rejuvenated. Congratulations to my sister on her graduation. Your future looks bright.

You will remember me talking about my pumpkins sometime last year.  Without any effort from me or my mother other than throwing out some pumpkin seeds our ‘garden’ produced a large number of beautiful pumpkins late last year. During that time I enjoyed pumpkin soup and pie and other pumpkin recipes and even sold a few pumpkins to the supermarket. Not surprisingly though as the dry season approached my pumpkin vine started to wither and almost died.

I am certain that many of us planted seeds during this year. We planted spiritual, emotional, social, educational, financial and even fitness seeds. We would have watched our seeds/goals/resolution start to grow. The questions now are

1)    Did our seeds grow past the initial seedling stage?

2)    Did we remember to water and fertilize our seeds/goals?

3)    Did our seeds/goals grow to full size or come to fruition because of loving care and attention?

4)    Did our seeds/goals wither or die?

As for me, there are many seeds which I planted which have flourished but there are others which barely grew past the seedling stage. Let us take a minute now though to celebrate our successes during the past year regardless of how big or small they may be (loud cheers and applause).

We also must take a moment though to reflect on the things we were unable to achieve this year. They are not failures but rather only delayed success stories. As we prepare to start another year, we should once again think about the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Action oriented, Result oriented, Time based) goals that we would like to achieve and start making plans to make them a reality.

Let your success stories of 2012 energize and fuel your passion. Say yes to a strong closure of 2012 strong and an even stronger start of 2013.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

2012 - A year of Joy, Hope, Thanks!

Hi everyone!

So I can hardly believe that there are only 22 more days remaining in 2012. I can still vividly remember ringing in the new year with Patricia ‘the classy host of the evening’ and my other equally classy colleagues and friends.  Join us this New Year on Monday 31^st December 2012. Further details will be provided later.

2012 held a lot of promise on that night and I will say that the year did not disappoint! So far I have been so incredibly blessed and so many amazingly wonderful things have happened this year. Indeed, to God be the glory great things he has done. Whether or not, things had fallen perfectly in place, I do hope that I would still have been singing praises to God for his work in my life. I can’t say with certainty that I would have but I am certainly working on giving God praise through the good times and the bad times.

This season has been one of joy and good fortune for me but I know of many who had many challenges this year. These challenges included the sting and heartbreak of death of a loved one, health issues and financial issues.  Through it all though, I have been inspired by the strength, inner beauty and peace of those around me who have faced challenges, trials and tests and remained strong and full of joy! They have definitely been good models that I can emulate!

As my faith deepens and my personal inner joy of gaining a deeper understanding of the Word increases I think that I am certainly on the right track.  I am far from perfect but thankfully perfection is not what is required of me.

I don’t know what your joys or struggles were this year but whether you were on the top of the mountain for most of the year or somewhere in the valley or maybe in a storm or flood I trust that you never stopped giving praise and saying thank you. In fact, if you are reading this you are still here.  Say with me, to God be the glory, great things he has done.

Drop me a line and let me know the highlights or low moments of your year and whether or not you remembered to give praise through it all.

I hope to be in touch with you a few more times before we ring in 2013.
Cheers!

Pic (Dec 31st 2012 rocking a dress from Hottest Selections)

 

 

 

 

To Move Forward or to Stand Still - That is the question

Hi guys

I want to first congratulate my friend Haneen on achieving her doctorate. I am so proud of you.

Over my life, I have spent much time contemplating the lines in Robert Frost’s poem especially the last two lines which are

‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference’  (excerpt from poem by Robert Frost)

There have been numerous interpretations of this poem which I will not go into as this poem may mean something different to everyone. What we can agree on is that in life we often face crossroads (two roads which diverge). If you choose to go down one road it usually means you can’t go down another at the same time.

For some people, the fear of choosing a road, that is, making a decision on moving forward paralyses them. Some decisions are easy and others much harder. I totally agree that making decisions especially life changing decisions can be scary. I think not making a decision is scarier though. When you put off making a decision and instead you are forced into a decision, or allow others to decide for you or simply compromise or ignore a situation or opportunity because it is the ‘easier’ thing to do, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

Instead seize the opportunity to make a decision. It is your life. You have to live with the decisions you or anyone else make. So therefore in my mind, it makes sense for you to make and own your decisions. There may always be naysayers and those who disagree or think you are making a foolish choice. There will be those who might be jealous you are moving forward or doing something different (crab in the bucket mentality). Who cares? Follow your heart and follow your dreams and that is what will make the difference.

To all the people who had the courage to make often difficult decisions...I tip my hat to you.

·        Those who made a decision to give up ‘stable jobs’ and followed or will follow their dream to start a business

·        Those who made calculated (well thought out) decisions to buy or build a home in a difficult economy

·        Those who made a decision to marry who they love even when others tried to discourage them or those who moved far away to follow their love

·        Those who made and stuck with decisions to lose weight and take control of their lives and health

·        Those who chose to walk away from abusive relationships and stand strong and tall because they know their worth

These are real examples of real people I know who made decisions often choosing to take the road less travelled by. These are people I know who are happy with the road they have chosen to travel.

What about you? Are you at a cross road? Is there a decision that you have been struggling with or putting off making? Have you stopped to pray about it?  If not, do so now. It’s true that prayer and faith changes things. I know.

Say Yes to making those decisions you have been putting off today. I am.