I stopped having my individual "pity parties." Enough was enough. You can feel sorry for yourself and become a train wreck or you can get on that road and never learn how to make a detour. I decided to "get rid of my emotional weight and the physical weight will follow. Do you know how to get off the train or make a detour? If you are having the same issues, then join me as I explore new routes to a healthy lifestyle, and let's share ideas together.

Deborah Akridge
dejahealth@bellsouth.net


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Deborah Akridge (Deja)

Exploring New Healthier Paths

Wow! The best thing I ever did for myself was.... Well, there have been so many. But, I guess one that still affects me today is when I should have come out of a divorce with millions of dollars and it did not happen---long story... In that situation, which is very common, all of my values, beliefs, and perceptions about life changed.

Here was this wonderful man that was supposed to honor, love, and cherish me forever---right? Well, I decided that "If it was to be--then, it was up to me" to learn to take care of my finances and invest in my future for retirement.

So, I went back to work as a school counselor and started having huge deductions put into a variable annuity. Also, he was paying $1500 in child support for one child back in the 80's. So, it really added up and accumulated throughout the years especially when my son, who is a Certified Financial Planner, took over my portfolio and put me in some high-risk investments. I remember that he was so impressed that I had been able to do this as a single-parent.

Now, I look back and pat myself on the back because I did sacrifice to make these investments, But, WOW! Where would I be now if I had not had this happen to me and decided to take control of my future?

Suse Orman says that we, as women, must take control of our finances and learn how to manage our money because nobody else is going to do it for us....

That was only one of the best things I've done for myself and I am grateful.

Hello my Dear Braveheart Sisters,

I am encouraged to remain on my current path. Reason being, many things come to mind as I attempt to answer this question. Equally as exciting are the flashes of future things that I desire to do and can envision myself doing.

In the past, I might have had "but I can't", "maybe after this", "what if", "will it be ok with so & so" running through my head. It would take FOREVER to make a decision. I was stuck in the "shoulds" Should I do this, or shouldn't I? This is not to say that those thoughts and feelings don't come up for me anymore. They do. However, today I don't give them the power to stop me in my tracks. I may be a little uncomfortable and afraid at times, but once I take the action, it subsides.....sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it does.

Ok, I will just pick one thing....the first one that came to mind. For me, this was the hardest thing I had ever done at the time. I feel kinda dorky saying this....I feel a little, I don't know, like it may seem so stupid(see there goes my head again). Whether it be abandonment issues or who knows...just my nature, it was so hard. It was super scary and painful for me. I was at the jumping off place for a very long time.

I asked my boyfriend to move out of my house. We had been friends for 15 years and he was my boyfriend for 6 of those. I will write more,say more on this at another time. The main thing is.......I chose myself. I really felt it became choose me, or die. Maybe not physically, but definitely spiritually. As I sit here over a year later, I have no regrets.

At the end of my life, I really dont feel I will regret what I did do , no matter the outcome. So far the biggest of my supposed "mistakes", have been some of my best teachers. I feel it will be what I did not do that will cause me regret and sadness. Yep for certain, it would be what I didn't do, not what I did.

In honesty,in truth,

Debra Hadraba
Honor Your Truth
Inspiration+Action


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Debra Hadraba
The Honor Your Truth Community

Dear BraveHeart Women,

The 1st best thing I ever did for myself was when I moved to St. Thomas, USVI January 1994 from Cincinnati, Ohio. At first glance the reason seems so obvious – island, beach, ocean, sun – who could complain especially coming from Ohio? And, if you’ve ever been to the Caribbean, you know how beautiful it is. That’s all surface stuff, which is wonderful.

On a deeper note, I am so grateful for that decision because moving there felt like I was stepping out of my life (at the time) into a new world of endless possibilities. I grew up in a very loving yet equally negative environment. I believed in dreams coming true yet didn’t think it was possible for me. My perception was that now I was moving into a realm where anything was possible even for myself. Looking back I have no idea why I believed that. I’m just so glad I did because as you probably know what we believe tends to show up in our life. For the first time in my life I began to do what I Loved! And, I had complete Freedom to Express who I am. That’s when I started Living my Life!

The 2nd best thing… was meeting Ellie Drake. From her teachings and through being a part of the BraveHeart Women Community, I’ve learned how to connect to my power and open up even more to my true Self and what I am here to express and create. Most importantly, I’m taking action and it feels Amazing & truly Liberating!

Remember, the Only thing that ever stops you from Everything You Want in Your Life is the story you tell yourself about why you can’t have it. What if you began today to tell the Story of Your Dreams?
Imagine that?

With Love & Gratitude,
~Amy


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~Amy Huentelman
Live Your Life Alive!
http://LiveAliveHealing.com
Love&Freedom+Expression=LivingAlive*

Hello / Bonjour,

Wow - the best thing I ever did for myself ?????

I could definitely come up with more than one answer here, but if I need to choose one thing it would be ...

The day I chose to work with a coach and learned to let go of my "addiction" - the addiction of having others think well of me.

By letting go of being overly concerned of what others thought , I was able to make decisions that were right for me and start to live a life that was more in alignment with who I really am.

I learned to let go of beliefs and habits that were no longer serving me.

It has been truly liberating!

Lynette Chartier

"Change your thinking, change your life"