It’s so easy to sit back and let things happen. A little bit too easy, if you ask me. Sure, you can wait on that guy to call you, you can wait on that company to get back to you after you submitted your resume, or you can wait until your pants don’t fit anymore to decide to lose weight.
Or you can take initiative, be proactive, and get the ball rolling. You can get up a half hour earlier to exercise before work. You can call that guy. You can shoot that company a quick email following up on that job opening. It may be a step outside the comfort zone, you may not be met with an immediately favorable response, but you will have done yourself justice by taking the reigns and being proactive, instead of sitting idly waiting for things to happen without you doing anything.
The ideas of “letting go” and “letting things fall into place” aren’t meant to replace action. Let go, and let things fall into place after you’ve made a move to get the ball rolling. By being proactive, you create momentum. Be proactive first, then reactive. Balance the two.
It may be trite to say, “what goes around, comes around,” but the reason its such a common saying is because its true. It’s a well-known law of nature that every action has a reaction. There have been times when I’ve done things to people, and karma hits me within minutes. People have done things to me, and suffered their own detriments.
Whenever karma does her thing to me or someone else, it reminds me to do right by people. If I do something fucked up, I should expect that it will come back around at some point, whether sooner or later. Ultimately when you screw someone else over, you’re only screwing yourself.
Sometimes there are forces actively working to thwart your success and happiness, whether on a large or small scale. If you have any bit of confidence about yourself, there are people who won’t like it for whatever reason. Who does this bitch think she is? She ain’t all that. She ain’t even that cute.
And they may be right. Who do you think you are? You’re not all that. You’re not that cute. But, that’s their perception. It doesn’t really matter what they think. The only opinions that matter are the ones from people near and dear to you. Everyone else can eat a dick.
Just keep doing what you’re doing. If you have haters, you’re doing something right. It means you have an audience that cares about what you’re doing. There will be times when you fall. You may even fall in front of the very people who want you to fail. But it doesn’t matter, as long as you pick yourself up, and keep moving forward. Momentum is your friend, stagnancy is the enemy. Don’t run in place. When you keep it moving eventually you succeed, building confidence and proving your haters wrong again and again.
Thank God for this blog, and thank you for reading. Hip Hop Muse is my baby, and I get lots of personal value from giving you my thoughts and ideas. I hope you get something out of coming to my site. Love you!
I’m a huge yoga fan, but I like to vary my workout routine by practicing different genres of fitness. My latest fascination is belly dance, its so much fun and makes me feel feminine and sexy. The moves are simple, they make me sweat, and when I look in the mirror after a belly dance workout I swear I look more svelte. I think that’s mostly perception because I’m high on endorphins, but I’ll keep my rose color glasses on.
My choice is the Bollywood Dance Workout that comes on Fit TV…check out the video for a preview. The moves are wild and carefree, it makes you feel like a big kid. You almost don’t notice you’ve been working out until you’re drenched in sweat at the end, a major plus in my book. It’s easier to exercise when it doesn’t feel like “work.” Get fit AND have fun? Sign me up!
I take pretty good care of my skin, so when my forehead began breaking out I couldn’t figure out for the life of me what the culprit could be. As I began a process of elimination, and my focus went to my makeup tools. Specifically my makeup sponges. How long have I had them? When was the last time I cleaned them? Who knows?
It’s best to buy new sponges, but if you’re a super recycler like me, you can just clean them and buy new makeup sponges when the old ones start breaking down. I hit them with a little shampoo and rinsed them clean. I repeated the process three or four times, until I got them as clean as possible. Let them air dry, and they were like new. The sponges won’t get completely white again, but they’ll be clean enough where the old oils, makeup, and bacteria from your skin are removed.
Lo and behold, a week later my forehead is clearing up. Back to being fresh!
I could be flawed in my perception, but I think of time as an arbitrary thing. An element designed to give us a framework by which to base the pace at which we’re going, and to tell us when to start or stop doing something.
I’m thinking of time in terms of relationships. What determines the pace of the maturation? Should you kiss on the first date? Should you wait four dates, or three months to have sex? What if you have five dates in two weeks? Do you still have to wait?
When it comes to dating and mating, time is arbitrary. The only compass you need to guide you is your heart. Sure, you need to use your brain to make logical decisions. It’s not smart to be stupid. However, arbitrary timelines don’t matter as much in the context of getting to know someone. You can get to know someone just as well in two months as you can in six months. It’s the depth of your involvement that determines maturation.
Thoughts on this topic are welcome in the comments.
I’m so excited it’s spring. Much like the flowers and trees, the warm weather triggers an awakening in our bodies and spirit. After being in hibernation all winter, it’s time to get outside and get it poppin!
A few simple ways to get into the spirit of spring:
Get outside! Enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. See and be seen.
Wear bright colors. Spring is high time for corals, pinks, yellows, and greens. Color directly affects your mood, so brighten up!
Eat lighter. Abandon the heavy meals of winter for lighter, fresher, produce filled dishes.
Spring cleaning. Toss out that clutter, water your plants, open those windows, and rearrange your space.
Get a pedicure. Bring those toes out from under those socks and boots!
Ramp up your dating life. Liven up your current relationship, or if its all bad, get a new partner. It’s mating season, baby. Get with it!
What are some ways for you to get into the spring season? Share in the comments!
Remy Ma called into Hot 93.7 and chatted with Jenny Boom Boom and DJ Craig G about Nicki Minaj, the rap game, prison life, and more.
Remy’s observation on how the rap game only allows one female artist to be hot at any given time is so true….and DAMN! Fat Joe hasn’t reached out since she’s been incarcerated? Whats up with that, Joey Crack? At least Remy doesn’t sound bitter about it. Stay up, Ma!
Black hair has always been a political thing. Our hair defines us, and it doesn’t conform to mainstream standards of beauty. Black hair stands out no matter what.
I’ve recently decided to stop pressing my hair. I don’t wear a relaxer, but most of my adult life I’ve been a press + flatiron queen. Years of excessive heat usage began damaging my hair, so I’ve been experimenting with natural styling techniques from braid outs, to twist outs, to roller sets. Occasionally I hit my roots with the flatiron after a roller set, but I’m drastically reducing the amount of heat I use on my hair.
The results of my no-heat hair styling techniques have been pretty successful for the most part, but a few styles didn’t turn out so well. My family thinks I’m going through some weird phase because I refuse to press my hair. My grandma thinks I’m going through something, and my mom thinks I’m being anti-establishment. They’re right. I am going through something. I’m tired of damaging my hair to make other people comfortable. My hair goes back to its natural state anyway, so I’m working with it rather than against it.
I haven’t pressed my hair at all in 2010, and my hair is healthier and shinier. I’ve flat ironed the roots a couple of times after a roller set. The small amount of heat applied to the roots after a roller set doesn’t compare to the layers of heat I used to apply to my hair with blow drying, pressing, and flat ironing. I’ve traded mineral oil and petroleum based products for organic coconut oil and olive oil moisturizers. And my hair LOVES it. It drinks up the moisture, coils into beautiful curls, and dances in the wind.
Finding a natural style that works is a journey within itself, but it helps me to listen to my hair and work with it rather than against it. I think we need to have more respect for our hair, and not abuse it with heat and chemicals. We need to cherish what makes us unique.
Although Martin Luther King Jr. day is a national holiday, some companies don’t observe this day in its list of company holidays. Whatever their reason for this, some employees choose to use their personal time to observe the holiday.
Me, I’ll be at work. I’d love to have the day off, but since I don’t, I’ll be in the office bright and early at 9am. And no, I will not use my personal time to observe MLK Day. Why should I? It’s a national holiday that my company should have granted as a day off. I refuse to use my personal time on a day that should be granted as a national holiday.
Martin Luther King Jr. died so that I would have the opportunity to go to work everyday without harassment or segregation. So that I can work in an office side by side with White, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and Asian colleagues. I’d love nothing more to have a day off, especially a Monday, but the fact that I have the opportunity to work in my field without facing (too much) direct racism means that his dream is realized to a certain degree.
How can I realize King’s legacy while I’m at work? MLK day isn’t just about having a day off work. It’s about making the effort to respect and be of service to others. If I do this, I’m acting in furtherance of his dream.
So let me have it. Do you have Martin Luther King Jr. day off? Gotta work? How do you feel about it? What are you doing to commemorate King day?
