Good News for the Soul

A women's health blog for mid-life women learning how to manage their health and their life.

Category: Special Thoughts

  • Benefits of Giving Yourself a Fresh Start this Year

    With the start of another new year upon us, it is completely common for most people to want to restart their lives. Most people may do this by setting new goals or New Year’s Resolutions. There are many examples of fresh starts. You could be starting a new job, a new family, or moving to a new city. These fresh new starts could benefit you in several ways. Let’s learn how they can do so.

    The dawn of a new year and the dawn of a new fresh start for everyone.

    Fresh Starts Affect your Mental Health

    Giving yourself a fresh start has a positive impact on your mental health. By starting over for the new year, you will allow your mind to reset over again, too. For example, if you battled a mood disorder throughout last year, the beginning of a new year could allow you to learn new ways to cope with it. This new year could open up a world of new goals for you. When writing them down, make sure they are specific and realistic. If you try to set some goals that may be too difficult to achieve, you may become a little discouraged and this could affect your mental health.

    A Fresh Start Could Benefit your Physical Health

    Besides benefiting your mental health, giving yourself a fresh start is also good for your physical health. If you continue to dwell in the past, you will find yourself sick, both mentally and physically. A fresh start could motivate you to develop new habits and leave behind those old habits. Why not make things easy by starting one small habitual change. For example, if you felt your eating habits were poor last year, you could make a small change this year of reducing sugar in your diet. This small habit change could lead to a different healthy lifestyle for you. Work on giving yourself a fresh start by starting one new habit.

    Examples of Fresh Starts

    Now that we know how fresh starts could benefit us, let’s learn about some common examples of giving yourself a fresh start. Here are some goals you may have heard of:

    • Losing weight or living a healthy lifestyle is very popular at the beginning of the year.
    • Being more organized in your work or day-to-day home life.
    • Finding your spiritual need by starting a relationship with God.
    • Doing more things to assist others.

    This list could go on and on with examples of fresh starts many people have done or are doing. But getting involved with one or a few of these examples might likely benefit you for the better.

    Importance of Moving Forward

    We all have experienced some form of regrets here and there in our lives. These nagging little things are a part of being a human. However, you can manage them by taking the time to analyze them. Try writing them down one day and ask yourself some questions. What do they teach you about yourself? What do you learn from your regrets? One study shows that regrets could be used to help make sense of where you’ve been and inform your future decisions or actions. They could help you move forward in making better decisions and learning from your mistakes.

    So as you start over again this year, be sure to use your fresh start with care. Set reasonable goals that allow you to be a better person mentally, physically, and spiritually. Believe you can achieve those goals with confidence and swag.

    What are your fresh starts this year? Any interesting goals you have in mind? Put them or anything else related you want to share in the comments section below. As always, feel free to like or share this post with someone you love.

  • What has 2021 taught you?

    Last year around this same time, I wrote an interesting post about the year 2020 and what it has taught me. I’m pretty sure I speak for everyone in that last year has taught us all a lot. It taught us how to survive during this pandemic and to do certain things on our own, such as cooking.

    However, as we say goodbye to 2021, let’s take this time to reflect on what this year has taught us personally. While not quite as depressing of a year as 2020 was, it was still a tough year for most of us. But here are a few things that it has taught me personally.

    2022 is almost upon us. However, let’s take some time to reflect on what 2021 has taught us.

    Hard Work Certainly Pays off

    The first thing that this year has taught me is the old cliché certainly rings true- “Hard Work Certainly does Pay off.” This year, I went from working temporary jobs to make ends meet, some of them long-term, to finally working a permanent job.

    At my day job at an energy efficiency company, I started off being a part of a one-year pilot program. But in June of this year, I’ve applied for an open Program Coordinator position, interviewed for it, and have been working on it ever since. It has been both interesting and different working at a job with actual benefits. But it feels great being a part of a company where I am learning a lot about energy efficiency.

    Learning New Skills is Beneficial

    Another thing I’ve learned is how awesome it is to learn new skills, especially if it is free. I have done all sorts of free online learning. Whether it’s experiencing my first one-week Haitian Creole pioneer school in March or attending different energy efficiency webinars, knowledge is power and increases my skills.

    If there’s anything you want to learn or improve in, take advantage of all these free online learning tools out there. Learning a new skill could lead to a nice hobby that you probably needed. There’s nothing wrong with learning something new.

    Importance of Praying for Endurance

    Of course this year, just like 2020, we all have to endure this pandemic. It’s not over yet, you guys. But there are other things that we might’ve had to endure through. For me, it was helping my mother take care of my sick aunt. Or putting forth more effort in calling and writing letters to people about God’s future promises for a better world.

    While we must continue to endure no matter our obstacles, it’s also important to pray for more endurance. Some of us have found ourselves becoming discouraged occasionally during this ordeal. Some of us have even experienced thoughts of possibly giving up. But when we find ourselves thinking this way, it’s vital that stop what we’re doing and pray. Never underestimate the power of it!

    Those were some of the things 2021 has taught me. As we close the book on this year, what are some of the things it has taught you? Feel free to reflect on this hectic but interesting year we’ve had in the comments section below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with someone you love.

  • My Top Five Favorite Stories for 2021

    It’s hard to believe, but we’re almost at the end of another year. With the end of another year, it’s time I start highlighting my top five stories on my blog for the year. Here are the five stories I liked reporting and sharing with my readers.

    Easily, my best week of this year!

    5. Endometriosis- A Condition that is Affecting Many Black Women Today

    This blog post got a nice amount of shares on Facebook this past June. Endometriosis is a condition that affects the women’s reproductive system and causes the tissue similar to the lining of the uterus to grow outside of it. It affects black women just as badly as white women. If you’ve been experiencing any of the symptoms in this post or know anyone experiencing them, go see a doctor as soon as possible.

    4. A Neuroscientist Shares What It’s Like to Live with Dementia

    This post was also shared on Facebook quite a bit. I’ve recalled a real-life story of a neuroscientist’s experience with dementia. It was a fascinating story of how she overcome this illness. I’m still interested in reading Dr. Barbara Lipska’s book by the way.

    3. How Discouragement Affects our Overall Well-being

    This post was also shared several times on social media. I talked about how discouragement could bring a person’s overall health down and how you can combat this feeling. Live your life in a positive way as much as possible.

    2. Feeling Low?- How You Can Give Your Self-Esteem a Boost

    I remember getting positive reactions from my readers after writing this post. In this post, I encourage the importance of self-care amongst us women. Getting your hair or your nails done brings out the best in a lot of us. It, along with exercise, could boost your self-esteem.

    1. My Beautiful Week of Spiritual Activity

    This post was my personal favorite because I opened up about my best week of remote learning ever. Not only was it an educational and spiritual week, but I also really developed my Haitian Creole language learning skills. I can’t tell you that I’m fluent, but going to my first lekol pyonye (pioneer school, by the way) nan Kreyol helped build my confidence.

    So there you have it! Those were my top five stories on my Good News for the Soul blog of the year 2021. I hope you enjoyed reading, sharing, or liking them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

  • How Discouragement Affects our Overall Well-being

    I just recently watched an informative online video about discouragement.  Discouragement is known as having feelings of unhappiness or worthlessness.  It brings our whole world down.  A person who is always discouraged thinks and acts negatively.  They also bring others down with them.  This personality change could cause a person’s health to be in jeopardy.  Let’s examine a few ways discouragement could not only affect your health but your overall well-being.

    We all battle with feelings of discouragement. But there’s hope in dealing with this.

    It Affects your Mental Health

    When you are always feeling down, it could cause you to not function well mentally.  Your relationship with your family and friends starts to suffer.  Your performance at work or school starts to change.  You suddenly don’t feel like doing anything fun or interesting.  You start to have feelings of worthlessness.

    However, there are ways you can get out of this deep feeling.  You can start by doing something that will make you feel good.  Try volunteering somewhere like at a park or a local event.  Engage yourself in some exercise like walking or bike riding.  It also doesn’t hurt to call a loving friend on the phone about your problems.

    Discouragement Affects your Overall Health

    If you’re always discouraged about everything, it will not only impact your mind but your body as well.  Feeling this way will impact your diet and sleep.  You find yourself eating the wrong type of foods and not getting quality sleep at night.  This will cause all sorts of health problems that may become life-threatening.

    Strive to come up with a plan to improve your eating, sleeping, and other health habits.  Always incorporate foods that are good for improving mood disorders such as fruits and vegetables.  Make sure you are going to bed at a decent time each night.  Maintain a regular sense of good hygiene habits especially during these infectious times.

    Think Positive Thoughts     

    A person dealing with feelings of discouragement has constant negative thoughts.  They not only bring themselves down but others along with them.  However, by changing your mindset into something positive, you will start to become less discouraged.

    Do something to make you a little happier.  Turn on the radio and listen to your favorite radio station.  Go outside to your favorite park and do some jogging.  Watch your favorite TV show.  Share a laugh with a close friend on the phone.  Whatever it is you decide to do, may it motivate you to think more positive thoughts.

    Always keep in mind these powerful words in helping you to cope with discouragement- “Jehovah is close to the brokenhearted; He saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

    If you have any questions or comments you like to leave, please leave them in the comments section below.  As always, feel free to like or share this post with someone you care about.    

  • Why We Should Make Time to tell Each Other, “I Love You”?

    We all have heard of this phrase- “Life is too short.”  Time is moving at a faster pace.  Because of that, we must take a little time out of our day to show we appreciate the ones we love.  One of the ways we can do this is to just tell that person that you love them.

    Expressing your love for someone is vital because you never know when it may be the next time you see that person again.  It could be tomorrow, next week or next month.  This pandemic has caused a lot of people to realize how much they need their loved ones.  Cherish having your friends and family around as much as you can. 

    What inspired me to write about this is because last week one of my dear subscribers passed away.  She was a good friend of my mother’s and a big fan of my Good News for the Soul blog.  She even used to comment on some of my posts.  Her family, to whom I know well, are certainly in my prayers.

    Don’t Take Your Loved Ones for Granted

    This pandemic has caused us to be on lockdown away from our friends and family.  It has made us realize how important we need people in our lives.  Social interaction is good for our mental and emotional well-being.  Thank goodness for Zoom and other video apps that helped us to keep in touch with our loved ones.  There’s also no harm in picking up the phone and calling them to see how they’re doing.  It’ll show that we’re thinking of them and miss them very much.

    A Few Small Ways We Can Show Love

    Besides calling one another occasionally, there are plenty of other good ways we can show love.  These various ways are not elaborate or large.  Some of these include:

    Take a little time to express love for one another
    • Send that person or persons you care about a thoughtful text message or a video message through WhatsApp.
    • Catch up with one another for a quick video chat via Zoom.  Once a month, my friends and I have what we call a “Sisters Chat” to connect during this pandemic.
    • Cook or bake them their favorite dish and send it to them.
    • Mail them a gift along with a special greeting card.

    These are only a few of the things we could do to express our love for one another.  There are probably plenty more you could think of.  However, these are good common ones that have been practiced during this pandemic.

    You probably may know of a few other small ways you can extend love for your family and friends.  If you know of any other ways, feel free to share them in the comments below.  Life is certainly too short.  We must tell each other those three words before it’s too late.   

  • My Beautiful Week of Spiritual Activity

    Last week, I took a break from my blog to immerse myself into some deep studying of the Scriptures and the foreign language Haitian Creole.  I attended my first Haitian Creole Pioneer Service School- virtually on Zoom, of course.  It was a faith-strengthening, encouraging, educational, everything I knew it was going to be.  My head is still full of all the knowledge I’ve acquired.

    Just one of the nice gifts I received while in “virtual” pioneer school.

    Help me Grow as a Teacher

    This week-long school taught all 19 of us how to use questions and illustrations to effectively teach people Bible truth.  The demonstrations and discussion sections in our textbook helped give us sound advice on doing this.  I was reminded of the importance of showing personal interest in people by just striking a simple conversation.  Several of us were given advice on how to effectively teach people in settings we’re typically uncomfortable with, such as over the phone.  But after this school, we felt better about contacting people in this manner.

    Grow as a Person

    The Pioneer Service School has taught me how to be a better daughter, friend, sister, and most importantly a servant of Jehovah.  It taught me how to draw closer to him and his son Jesus Christ.  While I can’t say that I’m a perfect person because of this school.  We all are a work in progress.  However, this school has given me the advice needed to draw close to my loved ones and my heavenly father. 

    This is truly important because of the world we’re currently living in.  By staying close to Him and his wonderful son for strength, we will be able to endure these trials with courage.

    Grow in my Knowledge of this Language

    I have been learning the Haitian Creole language for almost 4 years now and it has been such a rewarding experience.  I’ve wanted to learn this language to reach and teach more people about God’s message from the Bible.  During these past 4 years, I have managed to do just that by finding and sharing encouraging scriptures with Haitian people here.  While I’m far from fluent, I truly have come a long way since first starting to learn Haitian Creole.

    It has certainly been a joy to be a part of this school.  I’ve learned so much and I hope to do the best I can in applying what I learn.  Do you have a certain week you like to call, “your best week ever” like last week was for me?  Feel free to share in the comments section below or share something else positive that is on your mind.  As always, like or share this post with someone you know.

  • What has the Year 2020 taught you?

    It’s been a very interesting year, to say the least.  Most people may regard 2020 as a horrible year.  Some may call it a year where people grew closer to their loved ones.  No matter how you describe this year, it has certainly been different.  We all have learned something new this year being mostly stuck in the house.  What has the year 2020 taught you?  Here are a few things it has taught me.

    What a year it has been! However, we all have gotten something out of it in one way or another.

    Baking and Cooking Skills

    Because this pandemic has caused us to spend most of our time at home, we have had more time devoted to improving our cooking or baking skills.  I know I certainly have.  Before this pandemic, I liked to cook but had little time devoted to doing it more.  But now I’ve been trying all sorts of simple recipes, from seafood to stir frys.  I have even been finding myself baking more and that is something I’ve hardly ever do.  I can’t say that I’m a top chef.  But I have become a little more confident at it than I used to.

    Learning to do my Hair

    I wrote about learning how to do my hair in creative styles earlier this year.  It has certainly been an interesting journey.  I can’t say that the styles were perfectly done.  But they did end up looking nice on me.  One of these days, perhaps in 2022, I’ll probably get myself back in the hair salon.  Or I’ll go back to having one of my friends handle it.  But for now, I’ll continue to utilize YouTube tutorials on how to do my thick hair.

    Learning how to Work from Home

    Another thing I’ve learned this year is how to perform secular work from home.  I think the vast majority of us have been doing that.  Well, most of us have been fortunate to have a job this year.  I’ve learned how to be successful in staying in touch with my co-workers on assignments and projects through apps such as Microsoft Teams and Asana.  These tech tools have been amazing in helping companies stay in touch on projects and conduct virtual meetings.

    The year 2020 hasn’t been the best year for most of us.  But in some ways, it has been quite unforgettable.  When we look back on this year, it will convey different meanings for all of us.  But one certain thing, it was the year where we all have learned something new.  Now it’s time to hear from you.  What has the year 2020 taught you?  Let me know in the comments below what you got out of this year.  As usual, please like or share this post with someone you love.

  • My 5 Favorite Stories I Wrote About in 2020

    We’re almost wrapping up the year 2020 and without question, this year has been a turbulent one for many.  However, this year has truly been a busy one for me in sharing some upbuilding, encouraging, and informative health posts, mostly thanks to this pandemic. Writing in my Good News for the Soul health blog has certainly been a cathartic and beautiful experience for me this year.  We all needed some instruction and advice on how to get through this so-called “new normal.”  That’s why without further or due here are some of my 5 favorite posts I enjoyed writing about this year.

    Many people look to several ways to seek help for depression or anxiety. However, nothing is more important than being conscious of your spiritual need.

    5.  4 Hair Care Reminders for Women Doing it From Home

    I wrote this post after learning how to do crochet braids.  Also, I took a picture of what I accomplished.  I mainly wrote this for all my women out there who have been doing their hair instead of going to the shop during this pandemic.  While these are common tips most women practice, it doesn’t hurt to be reminded about them.

    4.  How my Father will Probably Feel about this Pandemic

    It was interesting to reflect on what my father will think about this current pandemic two years after his death.  But another one of his favorite things to do was singing- not professionally, just for fun.  One of the things I failed to mention in this post was he probably would use Zoom to do some virtual performances with a group he has with his friends.  Yeah, I could see him utilizing the popular video conferencing app in that way.

    3.  A World Fallen Apart

    This post was written after the other biggest news story of the year besides COVID-19.  That story is the incessant protests all over America over the unjust death of a black man named George Floyd.  Normally, I try to stay away from writing about something like this to reflect on health-related topics.  But I had to take the time to examine this because these riots help show that Bible prophecy is being fulfilled right before our eyes, according to 2 Tim. 3:1-5.  If we all lived by the scripture at Rom. 12:19 and leave unjust acts in Jehovah’s hands, do you think we would be seeing those devastating riots?

    2.  How to Reduce Anxiety During These Troublesome Times

    This was one of my most popular posts this year.  I received quite a bit of comments from some family and friends of mine who were touched by this post, including my mother and my uncle.  These were simple steps, but they were still helpful reminders we often take for granted.  One of the main ones we take for granted is praying.  Start praying during these last days if you haven’t started already.

    1. Why Spirituality is Vital for your Mental Health

    This is a recent post I wrote about why spirituality is very important when taking care of your mental health.  Many people have found their mental health to become out of sorts due to this pandemic.  Some have succumbed to depression and anxiety.  However, if we all become more conscious of our spiritual needs, we would be in an improved state than before.

    Those are my five favorite posts I enjoyed writing in my blog this year.  I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I did writing them.  If you’ve been keeping up with my Good News for the Soul blog, you may have a different favorite post of mine.  Feel free to share your favorite post from my blog and what you like about it.  As usual, like or share this post with someone you love.  

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