Skip to main content

How To Ruin Your Life

A lot of people ruin their lives on a daily basis. I often hear some people complain, get angry, sad, depressed and grow bitter over choices they’ve made which they thought were good ideas at the time, only to learn they weren’t. As someone that’s made mistakes, I understand and know that as long as you’re still living it’s never too late to learn from your mistakes and work to correct things moving forward. Bad choices can even prompt smarter thinking. No one’s perfect and we all fall short because of mistakes, dumb decisions, and bad moves. That’s just life. But ways you can ruin your life, though? Let’s see…
·         Not cultivating a relationship with God.
·         Neglect prioritizing your health.
·         Rush into big decisions you’re not mature or properly prepared for. (Proverbs 10:22 reads, “The blessing of the Lord brings wealth and he adds no trouble to it.” Blessings from the Lord don’t come without challenges, but I can tell when I’m ready to make big decisions, because when the Lord grants permission things usually flow well. When things don’t, it’s usually an indication to put things on pause and reevaluate what decisions I’m making.)
·         Do what you think or falsely perceive everyone else is doing.
·         Do the same things over and over again and expect different results (I believe this is Einstein’s definition of insanity.)
·         Assume something’s a great fit for you because it appears that way in someone else’s life.
·         Measure success by surface details.
·         Mishandle money.
·         Waste time spending time with the wrong people.
      I understand this list may not apply to everyone, but I know these things are common behaviors I’ve seen be the downfall with myself in past seasons and different people I’ve interacted with. Try not to make decisions that will complicate your life. While a number of the things above have been problematic, they’ve also helped serve as launching pads for better choices and thinking. But no matter how much or how badly you might mess up, you can still work to change for the better. 

Popular posts from this blog

The Day I Became A Kidney Donor

About a year ago, I had a dream my dad wanted to talk to our family about something serious. I wasn’t sure what he wanted to discuss, but I knew it was something I needed to prepare myself for. Around the time after I had this dream, I remember stopping by my parents place and sensing something was going on that they weren’t telling me. I tried to dismiss what I’d been feeling, but I couldn’t shake it. Something serious was happening. As I returned to my home after visiting them one day, I was in my kitchen washing dishes when a heaviness hit my heart like nothing I’d ever felt before. Something’s wrong with dad. That’s what that dream was about. God, what’s going on? As I continued washing dishes, I started crying and praying. Then in mid-spring, my dad held an unexpected family meeting that would change all our lives forever. He hesitated at first, and as his voice started cracking and he started crying, he said, “Well, I wanted to talk to ya’ll to tell you that I have kidney disea...

Thoughts From a Black Educator: Qualified, Credentialed, and Constantly Undermined

I’m a Black educator in my fifth year of teaching middle school English, and in my third as the 8th Grade English PLC (Professional Learning Community) Lead. And while I genuinely enjoy the purposeful work I get to do, seeing the growth of my scholars, and continuing to hone my skills in a content area I’ve loved since I was a little girl, I’ve had to confront some unpleasant experiences in this space.  I’d been through much worse when I was an academic advisor at a Christian university. Racism, sexism, harassment, and workplace bullying were sadly norms in that environment. However, some of what I’ve experienced as a Black educator hasn’t been normal … It doesn’t seem normal to be the only Black educator in my department – in a predominantly Black school. One of my Black colleagues once said, “It should look like a Tyler Perry movie in here.” But it doesn’t. It didn’t feel normal being reprimanded in a meeting (during my second year of teaching) by an administrator who went in on...

The Day I Made A Will

When I was a teenager, I remember writing a list of my greatest fears. One of the things I listed was death. Looking back, it was an interesting item to list because inevitably, death is something each of us will face at some point in our lives. Even though it’s no longer a fear of mine, I understand why and how it’s not a comfortable thing for everyone to navigate. But regardless, this past summer I completed a detailed will. I signed it, had witnesses sign it, and got it notarized. As I was getting everything done, one of the witnesses looked at me and said, “You know, it’s just that you’re so young…” I’ve learned that death doesn’t care how young or how old you are. You can be five, fifteen, thirty, or fifty, and it’s still something that happens. Completing my will wasn’t scary. It gave me peace of mind having documentation in place stating my detailed directives and requests. A year ago, I had one of my kidneys removed. It was a surgery that came with risks that were presented cle...