personal development – Page 4 – Still Unfolding with Stacy Hawkins Adams

Take the Cake

In this life, many of us have been gifted the freedom to choose our paths and how we will navigate them.

While we may be headed in a singular direction, it’s easy to be lured by opportunities or requests along the way that intrigue or excite us. Yet, we must be intentional about prioritizing our purpose or life’s calling, rather than choosing good over great – or in other words, choosing the icing rather than the cake itself.

On some days, the icing may be all we crave. However, the icing isn’t the substance; it’s usually a finishing touch. Given a choice, I’d say “take the cake.”

The cake is the lead, while the icing is a supporting actor. When you choose the cake, you can add as much or as little icing as you want or need.

So whatever decisions you face this week – personal or professional; individual or group-driven; significant or simple – pause and do your personal icing/cake analysis. Consider whether you’re asking the right questions to make the best and wisest decision, and whether you are willing to choose substance over style.

Some choices may land you both substance and style – cake WITH icing. But for enduring blessings and relevance, always start with the cake!

Intentions vs Resolutions

As this year winds to a close and 2025 waves hello, be intentional about enjoying the life you’ve been gifted.

Make a few resolutions if this helps you get on track or stay on track with long-held goals. Perhaps choose a word for the year that will inspire you to focus and keep going.

Whatever you do, be intentional about what to devote time and energy to in the coming year and what to pause, release or sidestep.

Concentrate on embracing the intangibles that serve as the foundation for a meaningful life – unconditional love, hope and inner joy. Live. Laugh. Dance a little, too.

Lean into all that makes your heart beat a little faster and your peace grow exponentially, and be sure to honor your dreams and your purpose.

These December “Don’ts” will bless your end-of-year “Do’s”

During this home stretch of 2024 and amid your holiday festivities and planning for the New Year, take some time to reflect on what matters most.

Not things, but people.

Not titles, but touching lives.

Not fabulous exploits, but life-changing encounters and experiences.

Not what someone else says you are, but who you know you are.

Not perfection, but peace.

Celebrate these gifts, and enjoy the beauty of your life in this moment, with no hidden agendas and no expectations for what is to come.

Today is a gift. This season is a gift. Your life is a gift.

You can color the world beautiful, just as you are. Pick your canvas and add your unique shade of lovely. 🙂

‘Tis the Season to be an Intentional Joy Seeker

December 1st. Whew!

We have reached the final month of 2024, and while I expect and pray for some amazing moments and memories to unfold over the next four weeks,

I can’t help but humbly pause today and thank God for bringing me through this roller coaster of a year – filled with some tremendous blessings amid deep loss.

God has shored me up through some of His earthly angels,

and kept me holding on and pushing through –

to hope and a healing heart,

to exciting opportunities and dreams unfolding,

to deeper trust in Him, which has deepened my inner knowing and my inner joy.

This month in particular requires intentional self-grace as I sit with treasured memories of loved ones gone –

on the December birthday of my late mother, who “graduated” to Heaven 19 years ago;

on the early December homegoing date of my sister Pat, 9 years ago;

on the late December homegoing date of my brother Henry 2 years ago.

And this year as the first Christmas that my eldest sister, Barb, will spend in Heaven.

I’m certain to have moments of melancholy, and that’s okay. Grief, in all of its forms, is part of our human experience. I may be quieter on those days, but I’ll be good.

And when you see me smile, be assured that my peace and contentment are authentic, because I know that each of my departed loved ones would want me to live to the fullest.

In doing so, I’m perpetually honoring them and all they poured into me.

I’m sending hugs and encouragement to all who need a little extra push – and TLC – this time of year. Keep going and embrace your joyful moments as they come.

Honor Yourself to Better Serve Others

You are the captain of your ship, and therefore of your wellbeing, your purpose and your journey.

Love without condition while still exercising wisdom.

Give generously while setting appropriate boundaries.

Dream big and don’t settle. It may take time, but the time will be just right.

Say no when doing so gives you the space to practice self-care.

Lean into “not now” when this will keep you safer rather than sorry.

However, always say yes to honoring your intuition, character and integrity – even when this means standing alone.

Be willing to sacrifice short-term gains in order to experience lasting blessings.

Know that you are worthy and embrace this truth with confidence and contentment.

It’s Purpose Time

Today is a great day to decide how, in this season, you’ll use your gifts, talents, expertise, and life’s purpose for good.

Write to inform and enlighten.

Speak to guide, uplift and connect.

Teach to nurture and give hope, at every age and stage.

Sing or play instruments to heal hearts and minds, and nervous systems.

Build businesses that meet tangible needs and grow your resources and ability to help the least of these.

Deliver health care with the compassion and steadfastness you’d give your mother, sister, father, brother or spouse.

Serve your customers in ways that leave them feeling seen, heard and valued.

Be the encourager, prayer warrior, water giver, servant leader, faithful friend or change-maker you know you were destined to be.

Now is the time,

for you are a pearl of great price.

In being who you are,

you add value and hope to this world,

as only you can.

Make The Most of This Week

This week, enjoy your life’s simplest treasures, greatest memories, unexpected blessings and life-affirming lessons.

Look within. Breathe. Smile. Hug yourself. Take good care with others, yet speak the truth in love.

Believe that there are rainbows after every storm, and eventually – sometimes sooner, sometimes later – you’ll see yours on the horizon.

Your resulting joy will make your waiting season, and your tenacious hope, worthwhile.

She Survived Breast Cancer 3 Times

In early 2024, I recorded a series of interviews with some amazing friends for an occasional YouTube series called Let Me Tell You.

Then, life happened. Mother-of-the-bride duties for my daughter’s April wedding, and the sudden passing of my eldest sister soon after, led me to pause work on the series and practice self-care.

However, as the cliché asserts, a delay is not a denial. Today, I’m honored and excited to share the interview – an inspiring conversation with my college classmate and friend, the extraordinary Sheila Taylor-Clark.

Sheila shares in our conversation how she has battled breast cancer three times (with style, grace and humor!) and continues to thrive as a wife, mother, entrepreneur, public servant and sister-friend to many.

Grab your favorite beverage and tune in at YouTube.com/StacyInspires to be enlightened, empowered and inspired.

Follow Your Flow

Entering a new week and winding down the month of October offers you a chance this week to reflect, refocus and renew your commitments to you.

Remember who you are and Whose you are,

and respond accordingly to today’s opportunities

to love, serve, be on the move,

or be still and know.

Because when you know more,

you do indeed grow more;

and as you know and grow,

you bless others so sincerely

with your overflow

that you find yourself

doubly blessed in the process.

Pay attention and you’ll witness the ways!

Celebrating The Pivot

A year ago in October, I independently published the tiniest book ever, in hopes that it would make a huge impact on its readers.

I purposely sized this single-poem chapbook (The Pivot) approximately 4×3 so it would fit in purses and pockets, to be carried along and read as needed in moments that call for encouragement.

I picked a specialty paper for printing, so that its readers would experience the book itself as a gift, featuring words of resolve they would be personally invited to live.

So Happy 1st anniversary to my first-ever published poem, The Pivot!

And thank you to readers across the nation who have shared how this poem has breathed life into you during challenging days and dared you to dream bigger on courageous ones.

Thanks to the event organizers who have purchased copies for your speaker and audience gifts and to the women who have ordered books for your sister circle retreats or as group-themed birthday presents.

Thanks to the owners of REDDJobb, an independent bookstore in Charlotte’s Carolina Place Mall for asking to keep copies on hand for your patrons and to the organizations that have invited me to deliver presentations on its themes.

To readers everywhere who have endorsed the book, thank you for sharing with me how the poem has personally impacted you. Sometimes when our own words escape us, those penned by others can carry the message our hearts long to convey.

Because of its specialty design, The Pivot is only available through my website (rather than the usual online retailers) at StacyHawkinsAdams.com.

This may keep me from making faster sales; however, for now, it feels right to personalize the experience as a self-care gift as much as possible. If Hallmark or another publishing entity wants to help strategically scale it, call me!