This month I turned 25! A lot of people think I’m older than I am when they find this out, and I think that’s why what I do is such a great fit. People relate age with maturity, but I relate maturity with how self-aware you are and in the way we live our life. This post is just a snippet of the inspiration from my past posts, and the advice I carry with me through this journey we call life.
In light of that, I recently got this Facebook memory while writing this post. On June 28, 2017 I wrote this as my status: “change your thinking and it will change your life!!” I believe I was passionately yelling at everyone to get their shit together, but what’s new?
This post was the same summer about a month after I took my first self-empowerment course when I studied abroad at sea. Granted, my summer assignment was to write a single-spaced 20 page paper about my entire life, and it is an understatement to say I was reflecting on everything in my life. It was the year a path became clear to me and I have not looked back ever since.
Twenty-five inshallah will be a great year. 24 was trying for obvious reasons, but it is also a year I can look back on and say “wow, I did that.” Please enjoy this list of my top life & leadership tips that keep me inspired to pursue my goals another day. Feel free to share this post with someone who needs inspiration, or tag me on my social channels with your favorite tip!
Experience does not mean expertise. I can spend 10 years doing the same thing, but it doesn’t mean the job is well done. Especially when people get comfortable where they are, they miss the growth and opportunity to do and be the BEST. A PSA to all my young professionals – your experience- no matter how little it is, is still worthy. Don’t let others discourage you from sharing what you got. If you need help gaining more confidence at work, please reach out to me!
You are forever and ever your own source of inspiration. In a past blog, I wrote about the benefits to writing a letter to your future self, and just how you can start. Documentation is key throughout your growth in life – this doesn’t just mean gym progress pictures, but with other things in your life too! You will thank yourself down the line, to see just how far you’ve come. I inspired myself in my last letter I opened, I told myself “Changing one life for the better is still changing the world. “
What you want might not come in the order you want or expect! You all know by now that I’ve always said everything happens for a reason. Nothing is guaranteed and what is meant for you will be. How you choose to take what life throws at you and run is up to you.
You are your greatest competition and your biggest cheerleader. We are our own worst enemy at times – and when we are, please see the above two tips and the one below this. There will be people in your corner to the very end, and then there will be those who don’t want to see you succeed. Always be looking out for yourself at the end of the day.
Be present and trust that you are where you are supposed to be. We can often feel like we’re not where we are supposed to be because of what we see around us and societal pressures. Each decade in our life brings so much beauty. This was a piece of advice from my IG question box, when I asked my audience to drop their best life advice. Thank you, Carmanah!
Every battle comes down to mindset. Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right!!
Stop standing in your own way. Even in the face of uncertainty, make decisions with purpose! Have a damn strategy at the least! What you choose to do today will set you up for the long road ahead. Check out more of my thoughts on this in my past blog.
You’re not always going to want to show up. Like at all. We learn only to rest, but never to quit! Often when we get to this point, we are on the point of burn-out, or there is a limiting belief, fear, or obstacle upon us and we have to keep moving along. It might not be easy, but it will sure as hELL be worthwhile.
Discipline comes in the form of the habits you have, the ones you choose to form, and the ones you choose to leave behind for good. I think when I truly came to understand what discipline is, is when I did Fight Camp with John Wai Martial Arts. I worked every damn day- morning and evening to be the best fighter I can be. But discipline is a mindset. If you don’t have a vision of where you want to be, the journey will prove more difficult. You will have to do things you don’t want or care to do but that’s still part of it.
Don’t allow something that does not bring you joy to consume both your day and night. Do what you have to do to do what you want to do. but the journey shouldn’t put our life and the things we love on hold. If you’re constantly thinking about next day’s problems at work, do you think the company is thinking about you?
Understand the difference between job satisfaction and job happiness. Job satisfaction comes in the form of your salary, bonuses, benefits and everything that satisfies your need to survive. Job happiness is everything like work-life balance, growth opportunities, empowerment, a supportive and safe environment and so much more! And you deserve it all!
If you’re constantly not reaching any of the goals you set, take a step back and re-evaluate. Don’t give up on them! You can if you want but don’t beat yourself up about it either. Adjust them and try again.
Never underestimate what can happen in six months. This is both in life and at work. You will always have a first day at something and 6 months might seem like a short period of time, but when it comes to growth there’s no way you look back and say you’re still the same person you were when you embarked on whatever journey you are on.
I can write a whole book to inspire you, but this is where I’ll end the article today. For more inspiration, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @generationziz and keep informed for future ways to work with me soon!
Your Coach,
Ziz <3