Dwell On The Past? Here’s Why I Choose Not To

February 19, 2022

We all have times when we sit and overthink things we can no longer change. I’m choosing not to dwell on the past.

It’s a new day, which means another chance to make better decisions. Recently, I decided not to dwell on the past–not just for my mental health–but also for those around me. Maybe it’s just me, but I become overwhelmed with many emotions when I overthink. From angry to sad, these emotions prevent me from being productive, which interferes with improving my life. Of course, sometimes the past motivates us to do better, but it can also break us down mentally.

There are many reasons to let the past stay behind, but here are three reasons why I’m letting go.

3 Reasons Not To Dwell On The Past

I can’t go back in time.

There’s no way I can go back to the past and change the decisions I’ve made. So why am I putting myself in a pit of depression, constantly thinking about it? What happened is done. I can’t go back in time and tell my younger self what I’ve learned today. I can only take this new knowledge and use it to make my life better than before.

It causes a lot of overthinking.

Overthinking does nothing but damage to a mind trying to heal. When I overthink, my brain starts to hurt, and it causes damage to the strength I built to get over all of those past events and situations.

If I want to grow, I have to let go of things.

The best part of growing is that we see a new light. We can laugh at the hurt and weakness we once felt before because we’re so secure and happy that it doesn’t bother us. But, you can’t expect to grow if you continue to hold on to things that once broke you.

Please, let’s all go and be great. Make your past self jealous.

I Took a Social Media Detox, Here’s What I Learned

February 11, 2022

There’s a lot we can gain by being on social media. However, there are a lot of social media detox benefits.

Recently, I took a few days away from social media. What exactly does this mean? Well, I didn’t open the apps of Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, which are my usual go-to instant social platforms. Instead, I used the time I would spend on each app working on my brand, resting, and finding out what needs to go in my life.

Why did I take a social media detox?

If you have an iPhone, there’s a recent feature added that gives you a phone usage report. I noticed a massive increase in my time on my device, and the leading apps I spent my time on was social media platforms. Honestly, the percentage of time spent on each app was embarrassing. Yes, since my career is in media, I spend a lot of time on social media looking for news stories, engaging in content discussion, etc. And, I could’ve used this as an excuse for the amount of time spent. But, being honest with yourself is a part of growing. So, I knew I had a real issue.

Since I intend on improving my life this year, I was aware that this detox was imperative, and I was ready to make a change.

social media detox — Photo by Vegan Liftz on Pexels.com

I regained the urge to go out and have fun.

In just those few days, I felt the urge to go out into the real world and enjoy the beautiful streets of my city. Social media took up a lot of my time, which eventually made me lazy. I didn’t want to go anywhere after finishing my homework or articles, but somehow I found the strength to tweet an unhealthy amount of times.

I love baking as a hobby.

My sister and I went to the grocery store with my new spare time and purchased every ingredient we needed for making cookies from scratch. We even ordered custom aprons with our names on them. It was a breath of fresh air and an excellent way to bond with my sister. We’re planning to bake often!

I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes.

As a graduate student and journalist, the most accessible food option is fast food or something quickly put in the microwave. But, since I had some time to spare, I found myself on tasty searching up dinner recipes and cooking with my family.

This social media detox was well needed, and I plan on taking one often to enjoy real life more. What are your thoughts on social media detoxes?

Hey, you made it this far. Check out 5 Things To Do Instead of Being on Your Device

You should follow Lashaunta Shanese on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram.

These 4 Things Can Prevent Your Growth

December 17, 2021

As the new year approaches, the last thing we need is growth prevention. So let’s get into how these 4 things can prevent your growth.

Growth can be stimulating— especially when you’re having a hard time figuring out what’s taking the process so long. For one, we can’t rush it. Growth is something that transpires when you permit yourself to change. It’s when your mind becomes more assorted and willing to step out of your comfort zone. Honestly, the process is dissimilar for everyone. For some of us, we can easily adapt to this new form of thinking which allows growth to overtake our lives. And for others, it’s not a walk in the park.

Either way, there are 4 things that can prevent your growth— whether you can easily adapt to changes or not. Let’s Talk!

These 4 Things Can Prevent Your Growth

Low Self-Esteem

If you’ve never experienced low self-esteem, you’re an icon—seriously. It’s when someone lacks confidence about themselves and what they can achieve. They often think of themselves as failures before they even begin. Low self-esteem is one of the main problems that prevents growth— because in their mind, they already loss.

Environment

Yes, your environment can prevent growth. Sometimes we get too attached to the areas we grew up around and become scared of the thought of leaving. It is possible to grow in the same environment, but not much. We need to experience new surroundings and people from different cultures. We need to experience the world. It’s much bigger than the neighborhood or city you’re used to.

Overly Procrastination

It’s no secret that everyone procrastinates. Even the most successful people talk about how there are times when they ‘put off’ doing something until the last minute. However, overly procrastination can prevent growth. What is overly procrastination? It’s when your motivation is erased by consistently waiting until the last minute to do something. You eventually choose to not finish the project— for example— at all. And we all know, if you don’t finish what you start, you’ll still be in the same position.

Negative Nancy’s (Naysayers)

The people you choose to be around can affect your growth. If you surround yourself with unsupportive people, that energy affects you mentally. You start to second guess yourself and your talent, which can create low self-esteem. If people are always negative around you, distance yourself. Nothing positive comes from that negative energy.

You know you have what it takes to take the world by storm. Grow and allow yourself to stay away from those 4 things. You got this.

If you like this post, you’ll love 6 Affirmations To Start Off Your Day

To learn more about Lashaunta Shanese visit my website.

Read my latest article for Sheen Magazine.

Here’s Why You Get Mad When People Express Their Feelings.

January 5, 2021

Talk about being out of touch with your emotions, whew.

When listening to someone express how they feel, do you often find yourself saying,

Damn, that’s crazy.

Okay.

Well, I hate to say it.. I don’t want to sound ridiculous… but.. you hate when people show emotions and it makes you mad.

Hear me out..

I’m not saying you’re heartless, but here are three reasons why you might act this way.

1. You lack empathy.

I grew up in a household where it was okay to cry. It was completely fine to talk about why I was frustrated or why I felt the way I did. There’s many people who weren’t this fortunate.

You probably grew up in a area/household where expressing your feelings were for the WEAK MINDED. It was always “man up” or “stop being weak”. Whenever you tried to express yourself, you might have heard:

Stop being stupid. That’s nothing to cry over.

So now, many things that others react towards, you’re numbed to. You aren’t phased by much and it’s hard to get a tear out of you, to be honest.

Come on, shed a tear!

I’m kidding!

2. The situation is not a big deal to you.

To you, the situation may be small. There’s no reason to talk about it or get emotions involved because it’s simply not a big deal.

You’re making a big deal out of nothing. It’s not that serious.

However, it’s the principle, you know. Just because you feel like the situation isn’t important, does not make the other person’s feelings invalid. They have a right to talk about an issue that’s bothering them, and as the other person involved in the situation, the least you could do is listen.

3. You’re bad at communicating.

Yeah, I’m using the “C-Word”. There’s many people who really don’t be knowing what to say when someone is expressing how they feel. They can’t find the right words, movement or emotions. They don’t want to say something to make the situation worse and it makes them awkward. They get upset at the fact that you keep talking and eventually will either zone you out or hit you with the text:

Idk what you want me to say.

Sometimes, you might not get a text back at all, but you’ll definitely see them sharing posts on Facebook.

This isn’t an excuse, though. We’re all young adults and there are ways to become a better communicator.

It all starts with acknowledging the problem.

You can’t act like the problem does not exist. The other person isn’t crazy or making up anything.

You know exactly what’s going on.

Think about how crazy it sounds to get mad when someone is explaining how you, for example, hurt them. Do not be this way forever.

Here’s an article from Mental Floss that discuss 11 ways to become a better communicator: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/71966/11-ways-become-better-communicator

3 Reasons Not To Dwell On The Past

Here’s what I learned during my social media detox

These 4 Things Can Prevent Your Growth

1. You lack empathy.

2. The situation is not a big deal to you.

3. You’re bad at communicating.

/nō/