Here lately, my life has been met with some new obstacles that I’m having to face head on. Of course, life is filled with choices. However, it’s up to each of us individually to decide how we will approach each one of them.

Boldly Embrace New Chapters

Currently, I am personally boldly embracing the newest chapter, of my life called the single empty nester phase. Each one of us has had personal life changes, choices and experiences that led us to wherever we are today. Mine led me here. In the midst of being where I am, I am reminded of the times when I was concerned with what other people thought about the decisions I made. I’m happy to say that I no longer feel that way.

Cancel Those Subscriptions

If you are familiar with the adult cartoon, American Dad, then like me, you may remember an episode where Roger said of himself, “I’m the decider.”  That resonated with and stuck with me. Like Roger said, we are all awarded the opportunity to make our own personal decisions. In spite of the circumstances surrounding us, we get to decide. Always remember too, that no decision is a decision as well. Think about it….

I’m also reminded of the times when I subscribed to my own self-limiting beliefs. I’m happy to say that I canceled those subscriptions. Yes, I no longer subscribe to the things that once weighed me down and held me back and you too can do the same. Yes YOU, can cancel self-doubt, fear, thinking it’s too late, and even disappointment. As long as you’re still breathing, it’s not too late.

Get Rid of Self-Limiting Beliefs

Replace those self-limiting beliefs with believing in yourself, being bold but not reckless, taking a chance in yourself, and yes, being confident in your own strength and abilities. Like Eminem said, “You only get one shot.”  We miss 100% of the shots we never take, so take the shot! Aim for it and go after it!  Whatever it is!! Write that book, take that class you’ve been thinking about, or that trip you’ve been wanting to take. Make it happen and go after it!

How Confidence Shapes Your Path

Your confidence shapes your path. It starts when you believe. Make a decision and stand on that. I’m currently facing a decision that can and will forever change my future. I have a pretty big decision to face in this new phase of my life. So I took 90 days to weigh the pros and cons surrounding this decision. I finally made up my mind to go for it! Now you don’t have to take as long as I did to decide. You can think about it and move on it sooner or later. Depending on what your obstacle entails, use your own discretion to confidently make your decision and stand firm on it.

Confidence helped shape my path when I went back to school for 5 years as a non-traditional college student and graduated in 2016. Confidence also helped shape my path when I stepped out on faith in 2018 and self-published my first book, my book of poetry, entitled An Orchid’s Time to Bloom: A Collection of Poetry.  In 2020, I believed in myself once more, and co-authored, my second book, entitled Promise. Confidence also helped shape my path when I self-established my LLC, went back to school to get my master’s degree, even and when I quit my 9-to-5 to try a new career path.  Though these are just a handful of examples, you can see how confidence can shape our paths in a multitude of ways.

It’s The Audacity For Me

In life, we get to choose how we react and respond to every moment that we face.  Audacity is at an all time high. There have been times when I have made decision and others boldly came to me and said, “If I were you I would have xy&z…. and I sometimes think about those types of situations. The thing about statements such as those is this, if they were me, they would never come to me in the first place, to tell me what they would do if they were me. That’s the difference between me and people who like to voice their opinions about other people’s choices. No one can decide for me about the decisions that I choose to make that will affect my life. It’s up to me to decide to make a choice that works best for me in any given situation and to stand on it.

The results Are In

Once you go all in and confidently embrace who you are, establish your boundaries, and walk in authenticity, you will begin to see how enlightening your life can be. You will begin to acknowledge all the ways in which you are adding value to the world, and how your contributions matter.  We all have a story to tell we’ve all gone through something to get to where we are. It’s up to us to decide on what we will do with all of that information and how we will choose to walk boldly along the path laid out before us.  The possibilities are endless. Join me and let’s choose to be our bold and authentic selves.