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In the Middle of Difficulty Lies Opportunity, and Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail

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South African real estate titan Pam Golding says, “I have always believed that women can do anything they set their hearts on.” And I happen to agree with her. However, achieving a goal isn’t always EASY. In fact, it is in the arduous journey of NOT QUITTING that we often find ourselves ARRIVING at the …

In the Middle of Difficulty Lies Opportunity, and Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail Read More »

Riding the Wave ☀️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ My new favorite quote is “You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf” 🏄‍♀️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We’ve been in the beautiful Kommetjie (Deep South Africa) for a month now and we never want to leave! The time spent here so far with my family has taken me from a much needed season of personal growth and reflection to one of present living and CELEBRATION. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Every season is necessary and has its own rebirths in ways, but I’m really loving this one and want to ride out this wave forever 🌊 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Please excuse me while I continue to be super distant from all my content creation and sharing. I’ll be back but for now I’m too happy living in the moment to document my days. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 👋 Gone surfing 🏄‍♀️
Funny how sometimes we are our own harshest critic right? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Start giving yourself the same grace and space you give others, and watch yourself blossom 🤸‍♂️
The Politician, The Entrepreneur & The Actress ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here I am pictured with my two best-friends, and the God Mothers to my babies. I couldn't feel more blessed to have both these incredible women in my life. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Having met these two over the shared love for Savannas during a boring rugby match at a mutual friends braai (for my American people reading, a Braai is a BBQ) 10 years ago, we have journeyed from the season of our wild and free clubbing days to much greater things including but not limited to entrepreneurship, immigration, motherhood, acting careers and parliament. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We've wiped each others tears, said the truth even if we didn't want to hear it, sent each other voice notes long enough to be a motion picture (OK mainly only I have done that haha), and encouraged each other through every milestone in life even when it has brought us through different seasons in the same chapter. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We've learned from each other, pushed each other, been angry at each other, and forgiven each other. We are real friends and no amount of "likes" will ever determine the value or meaning of our love and friendship. No algorithm can ever define or prioritise each season, milestone or moment. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I love the #happylittlesquares and #documentingmyjourney, but nothing beats good old fashioned real-life friends and memories.
A New Kind of Happiness 🤸‍♂️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here is a cheeky excerpt from some of today's edits in the book I am writing ✍🏻 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ "You see, when you are filled with your natural state of JOY, you have an attitude of gratitude so to say. You have a mindset that defies circumstances. It’s a “wow, this is incredible” or “this is interesting to learn” approach to life. Whereas “happiness” is when you are after something. Happiness is specific and brings with it competition, determination, defense, condition…" 📖 @greatnessjournal ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ❤️❤️❤️
IThemba means HOPE ❤️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’ve been reading to these gorgeous kids at an NGO preschool in the Southern Peninsula for most of this year and feel incredibly blessed to know them and make a small impact on their lives. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Today, for the first time, I brought my oldest son along. He’s their age, 4 turning 5, and he has been begging to come read with me to my “other babies” for weeks now. Today was finally the day and his heart was so happy! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It’s important to me to be present where I am, to find the Calcutta near my home and to serve in a small way. If we all serve and give a little of ourselves in just one small way, imagine our communities.... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It’s not only up to the policy makers, NGOs and corporates for social responsibility. It’s a personal responsibility that starts from within and that extends to our kids, our communities and the needy around us. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ One person, one leap, one thread of HOPE at a time. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Find your Calcutta and share some iThemba today. It will serve more than any vote, judgement, ignorance or delusion. 🏡 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Grace & Grit 💃🏻 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Failing to plan is planning to fail, right? Well, this is what I have found... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Just like how I have learned to avoid the pitfalls that trigger my toddlers temper tantrums, I have learned how failing to plan my days the night before (and preparing everything I need in advance!) sets me up for failure. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And yet, I love a little bit of surprise too. So, while I use all the wits and grits about me to meticulously plan our days in order to avoid the dramas, I also lean in to a little bit of God's grace and go with the flow that is life. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ How do I do that? I ask, i'm open, I receive, and I give thanks. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ In other words, GRACE + GRITS = GRATITUDE. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ HAPPY FRIYAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @greatnessjournal 🙌🏻 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Helping my Kids with Adaptation 🤸‍♂️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Life has a way of forcing us to slow down and re-look at things. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The universe, or God, or whatever your higher power belief may be, has a way of putting the blocks in place that make us see what is most important in that moment. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ When we made our temporary move down south (in the land of the special little basin by the sea called “Kommetjie”), the blocks didn’t take long to present themselves. And this time, I was quicker on the uptake. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ You see, the lessons change but our learning skills sharpen as we navigate the tumultuous and ever-changing journey called life. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Our schedules changed, there were some initial hurdles, but most of all, I learned my family needed me more. So, I pressed the pause button on all the passion projects, planted my feet firmly where God placed me, and woke up everyday asking “What do they need from me today? How can I serve my family God?” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ My natural type A personality wants to resist this flow. I tend to treat “what works now” as eternal dogma, pushing against whatever changes come my way that I don’t foresee. Its caused me anxiety and depression in the past. But by now I have learned to recognize this resistance as fear, and ive learned to listen to what lesson is there waiting for me. I have learned to TRUST and go with the flow. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ For as long as I am human, I will be evolving, and I want nothing less for my children’s human experiences too. The greatest gift I can give them in an ever changing world is my time, and my example of humility through change and adaptation. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Hello new chapter in life ☀️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ More on the podcast soon, stay posted 👂 . . . . . . . . . . . #learnandgrow #lifelessons #raisingconfidentkids #happyinmotherhood #cestlavie #purposedrivenlife #honestyinsquares #communityrising #motherhood #raisingboys #podcastersofig #changeistheonlyconstant
On my 35th year of life I choose to celebrate and honour the lessons that life brings us, and especially in the moments that bring us together. It has truly been a wonderful year! The word I chose to begin my 34th year with was initially "empower" but I later changed it to "courage". I wanted it to be a year for honest discovery, humility, happiness, and of calm. And, as the day of my birth 35 years ago has arrived, I feel incredibly calm. I can't say I am entirely "collected" yet, and not sure I ever will be! The more I learn and know, the more I realise I just don't know. What I do know is this - for as long as we are here, we should be seeking, learning, and trusting. It is fitting then that today marks the beginning of a new chapter. A crisp and clean new page that starts on the old, familiar soil of my beloved deep south. My little family and I find ourselves back in the southernmost tip of Africa, this time in a tiny little beach town called Kommetjie. For the rest of the year our home will be a quaint small basin by the sea. As with any new chapter, or season, we welcome the changes and trials that will come with it. The boys are in a sweet holiday school here, for less hours in the day than we are all used to. It is a new environment for them, and I have a little less help, so we are nestling ourselves into this sweet season by exploring the local grounds together and pausing as much as we can. This year has been truly transformative for me and sharing it openly has been a great passion of mine, as I want nothing more than to inspire others if that is what my journey can do. Alas, my patron saint said it best, "If you want to change the world, go love your family." Thank you, my dear Mother Teresa, for being my teacher. So, while you will see less of me around here in the weeks to come, I will be pausing with family while we explore this new chapter, seeking courage every day to trust Gods plan for us, and to allow ourselves to be mere pencils in his hand. ❤

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