I AM

I wrote a poem in my freshman English course titled “I am” – I wrote it because I felt lost inside.  I was alone, had few friends and was struggling with being away from home.  The truth is, I felt different. I was the alien in the room.

The first line was, “I am the color of creamed caramel coffee.”  At that time, the visual worked because I struggled with my skin tone, and the ‘creamed caramel coffee’ reference allowed me to identify with self. But, the rest of the poem, was a reflection of all the things that I wasn’t.  Thinking of it now, it was an attempt at empowerment that made me feel more depressed and alone at that particular moment in my life.

I rewrote the poem some years later, and it’s become my personal anthem.  A challenge to self to remain my own cheerleader when everyone else falls away.  It has become a continual affirmation not of what I could have been, or might be.  It is my here, now, and future.

So my words for being wiser, to any person and to my younger self goes something like this:

I AM

I AM the color of creamed caramel coffee.  I AM tall, warm, and beautiful.  I AM not what you expected me to be, I AM one who moves mountains.  I AM a survivor of illness, racism, and hate.  I AM tough!

I AM innovative, passionate, and constantly moving forward.  I AM always thinking of what’s next. 

I AM too busy being successful than to reflect on what I’m not.  I AM seeing all that I AM.

I AM smart, I AM present, I AM ethical but most of all, I AM PHENOMINAL!

At the end of the day, I AM still learning and growing, and guess what…so are YOU.

What you say, you do become. Stay positive and continually affirm all that YOU ARE!  Begin each day with positive “I AM’s”, write it in a journal, on the wall, wherever your eyes can see it.  Become your own best friend and cheerleader!  To change your life, you have to change your attitude and how you see yourself.  Ethically speak to yourself with love and kindness every day. EVERY DAY!

To reach me: 

Lisa Raymond, Ethics2Talk, LLC (ethics@talk.com), (412) 430-3428, or email:  Lisa@LCRay214.com

Business owner of First Choice Temporary Services, Inc.,  Ethics2Talk, LLC, Life Coach, Motivational Speaker, and Adjunct English Professor at Robert Morris University

Finding Time

How big is your to do list?  How about your 'personal' to do list.  You know the one that is all about you?  The very one that you say you'd like to accomplish something but never get around to it?  How important is it for you to reach those small personal goals one task at a time?

We all have things that we would like to do in life, but sometimes in the midst of everyday living, what we want to do actually takes a back seat to satisfy what needs to be done right now.  And more times than not, what needs done now is for someone other than yourself.

This can cause us to lose sight and focus of what we originally wanted and needed to do for self in order to feel complete for that moment.

I suggest to you to find some selfish time.  Think of it as time to regroup, re-energize and refocus yourself so that you can be more for those around you.

Start off by taking 15-30 minutes every day to find peace and clarity through meditation, prayer, or journaling.  Choose a time that you can commit to yourself with no interruptions.  This could be at the start of your day, before bedtime, or anytime in between.  What matters most is that you devote time to yourself and enjoy being good to you during that time.

What you will find is that by taking time to get back to you, you will be more equipped (mentally) to deal with those around you.
Try it!  Email me and let me know what works best for you!

Just be like.....

How many times have you been told, "Just be like...."?   More like your brother. More like your sister. More like the cool kids.  Be like Mike.... Heck, someone may even say, "Be like Nike, and ..... 'just do it'!"

                    How many people have you told to be like..... someone else?

I've been on both sides of that table.  Growing up, it was, you should have your sisters eyes. Or you should be more athletically fast like your brother.   I felt pitted against them. And when I was told to be more like my peers, I felt like I was losing the battle of being me.

You see, it's hard to fit in when it seems that everyone is telling you to be like someone else.  To me, it boiled down to, who I was just wasn't good enough.  I went through most of my life not fitting in. And fighting harder to try to shove the square peg (me) into the round hole that everyone else seemed to play in.

I went through college trying to be more like everyone else because I had lost all identity of who I actually was. I was confused and lost. I changed how I talked, walked, and interacted.  I was dramatic, always sickly, always doing more to get attention.  All that work to be like someone else never worked and I never felt like I fit in.

I've even done this same type of 'be like' damage to my kids -- be like this sports figure, be like that smart girl... just emulate anyone - except who you were meant to be. And for that... I'm truly sorry.

I'm learning to accept myself in general and others for who they authentically are.  For the talents they have, and more so for the joy they bring to my life.  The world has become so fast-paced, judgemental, and unaccepting of different.  And while I can't change everyone's thought patterns, I can surely work on my own.

So instead of telling others to be like someone else, I ask only that you be authentic, brilliant and be you.  Because no one in this whole world can share what you have in your heart quite like you - and that is what makes you special!