Authentically SUG

Storms of life can test our resilience, strength, and character. They often push us out of our comfort zones and force us to confront our fears, limitations, and weaknesses. Just as a storm can bring destruction and chaos, life's storms can disrupt our plans, shatter our expectations, and leave us feeling lost and disoriented.

During the storms of life, it's crucial to find ways to navigate through them effectively. Here are a few strategies that can help:

1. Maintain a positive mindset: Cultivate optimism and believe in your ability to overcome challenges. Focus on solutions rather than dwelling on problems.

2. Seek support: Reach out to friends, family, or professionals who can provide guidance, understanding, and encouragement. Sharing your burdens can make them feel lighter.

3. Practice self-care: Take care of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Engage in activities that bring you joy, relaxation, and rejuvenation.

4. Adapt and be flexible: Be willing to adjust your plans and expectations as circumstances change. Embrace resilience and adaptability to weather the storms.

5. Learn from the experience: Reflect on the lessons learned from difficult times. Use those lessons to grow stronger and make wiser decisions in the future.

Remember, storms are a natural part of life. While they can be challenging, they can also be transformative. Embracing the storms, learning from them, and navigating through them with resilience can ultimately lead to personal growth, inner strength, and a deeper appreciation for the calm that follows. #storms #weather #lessonslearned #selfcare #minuteswithsug #flexible #mentalhealth #faith #spirituality

As a child, there were many things my parents made my sister and I do that were irritating and I had no idea why! Things like daily affirmations before we even called them that, cultural experiences like attending the opera dressed in our Sunday's best, performing at the local performing arts center trying to craft our creativity, praise dancing in the church and the list goes on and on. They knew much more about what I would need to survive in this world than I do and they were being good parents by preparing me; in their own way!

One of those ways was my mother's morning mantras when we had to affirm ourselves to the world. Here's just a little snippet of what that was like. I am so thankful for those moments, lessons and shares of love. I only want to pass it along that you may find some benefit.

Be well, Stay healthy..Peace!

Being a caregiver to an elderly person is not for the faint at heart. Believe me, I know! As I enter the fifth month of caring for my 93 yr. old father there are still many things I am learning about myself and how to cope with the demands that caregiving brings. The first step is to be honest with yourself. Once you acknowledge what it is you're feeling, thinking, experiencing, you are able to move and work through it.

As I approach two years post-divorce, a friend asked if I was changing my name. I looked at her and asked "change it to what"?

After a woman divorces, a major decision is if she'll keep her married last name or go back to her maiden name. Here's just a little snapshot from an article titled "Keeping Your Name After Marriage" found at Keeping Your Name After Marriage (investopedia.com)

Whatever decision you make, it is yours and yours to make alone. For me, the decision was to keep my married name. I have had it for over 25 years and it still fits me.

If you want to Change, Achieve or Do, maybe The C.A.D. Method to Sustainable Change can help. www.ranaperilifecoaching.com

To say dating has changed over the last 5 years would be an understatement. Yet to say that it looks totally different from 2002 or even 1980 would be fact. 

In 2002, one of the number one songs was "U Got It Bad" by Usher and the dating trend was Three-Way Calling -  if you had a super brave best friend, you'd make her call your crush while you silently listened in on three-way calling as she asked if your crush liked you, too. Sometimes it was a disaster, and sometimes it led to great romances, but all of the time it was a cringe-worthy and scary.

In 1990, MIchael Boltons' "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" was one of the top songs.

Hands down. Do I really need to elaborate?

Making a phone call instead of texting is so much more personal.

From my home phone (that's right, cell phones weren't always the prominent means of communication), I'd dial the number of my crush, wait for their parents to answer and then ask to speak to him.

Then we'd talk for a little while I lay on my bedroom floor, twirling my hair and we'd make a plan to meet.

From the use of cell phones, to online dating, the ability to meet a partner has brought more challenges that are difficult to manuveur is you have idea of the "rules" no less "new rules". Long gone are the days when you'll meet at an ATM or in the laundromat through Teisha and I are still old skol nostalgics who still believe it's possible. 

However, we must be willing and unafraid to dip our toe into online dating as statistics show 35% of couples meet online these days, and they even dare to say that relationships that start online tend to last longer than traditional meeting couples. There are a whopping 34.5 million online dating users in 2022. Sure, it may be unnerving yet these are the new rules.

Lastly, Teisha and I discussed the word "relationship" and the negative connotations it brings when seeking a partner or companionship. We suggested the word "connections" over the relationships. Why? When a relationship is broken, it shatters into pieces that are impossible to ever put back to together. However, when you disconnect from something/someone, you have the ability to unplug with no shattered pieces. What do you think?

Be well and stay healthy! 

Tamika Morris of Morris Therapy and Consulting LLC joins me to talk about life happens – living takes effort. Tamika unapologetically shares her story of struggles and triumphant, and how having her son late in life was the best gift she could have been given. As you listen to Tamika’s story you may ask yourself “ how did she get through it”? How didn’t she lose her mind? All good question yet you have to listen to get the answers. I say #lifehappenslivingtakeseffort and Tamika knows full well and first hand what that saying means. Her life and life experiences would have done some people and destroyed them. Yet Tamika’s faith keeps her going and gives her the strength to keep fighting – no matter how hard the challenge.  She tells her story – her own way – authentically of course!

Tamika can be reached at Work Phone: (702) 874-8201

https://www.morristherapyandconsultingllc.com

IG:morristherapy

Life happens....living takes effort, is what I say! Yet how do you deal with the unplanned chapters in your life. Those times when everything that happens is unplanned and dispels the fairy tale of what you thought life would. Lisa McGregor, IG #theunplannedchapter, joins Authentically SUG and shares her journey of faith, divorce, narcissism and her part in that relationship, and how she turned her unplanned chapter into a TikTok account that amassed over 15k followers in 1 month. Lisa authentically and candidly shares the role she played in her narcissistic relationship that ended in divorce and the trials of co-parenting. More importantly, she takes about her faith which carried and continues to carry her through. 

We often hear stories of extreme trauma and ask ourselves, how could someone survive that and still be okay? When you hear Tracey Forde's story you will truly ask that exact question.

Tracey Forde is a mother, wife, entreprenuer and fierce female who became pregnant at the tender age of 16 and walked into a domestic abuse relationship soon thereafter. Her trauma began outwardly at age 2 yet Tracey will confess her trauma began inwardly intrauterine. Raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina Tracey experienced life in the spectrum of white supremacy, male patriachy, the rooted aftermath of slavery, being a teen mom at the tender age of 16, domestic abuse coupled with mommy and daddy wounds as a Jehavah Witness.

It took her five years to peel back the layers of the past and unlearn learned beliefs to remove the masks she had been wearing to reclaim her worth, heal the trauma and walk in her purpose.

Today she is a sought after Trauma Healing and Mindset Coach, motivational speaker, and founder editor of the inspirational blog, https://plantedtoflourish.com.

She is truly a graceful soul and I am so honored to have her visit.

I Am Tawanna L. Craig! #authenticallyme_

She once asked a group of ladies to give her one word to describe her. This is what they said. You are Authentic, Enthusiastic, Energetic, A Go Getter, A Leader, Imaginative an Advocate for Teen Girls. She has been told, she is “Her Mother’s Special Child”, which she takes as a compliment.

She is honored to be viewed in this way. However, she sees herself as someone who loves God and strives to represent him well. Everything said about her is because of God. She takes credit for none of these things.

· She takes pride in being the mother of an amazing young man who brings her so much joy and makes her heart smile and is her biggest cheerleader.

· She is the CEO and Founder of Authentically Me ~ a non-profit organization, Certified Life Coach, and a Business Owner. However, her passion is empowering young girls to become strong women and strong women to become powerful leaders.

Tawanna L. Craig

Chief Executive Officer

Authentically Me

FB: www.facebook.com/authenticallymeinc

IG: www.instagram.com/authenticallyme__

YouTube: Tawanna L Craig