Tag: personal growth

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! 😉

For now, I simply say thank you!! I am grateful to be the muse and the steward for this beacon of hope, in book form.

Stacy Hawkins Adams’ poem, The Pivot
These readers of The Pivot received it as a gift!
One reader of The Pivot includes it in her morning devotions.
NYT bestselling author Kimberla Lawson Roby endorsed The Pivot.

Draft Your Operating Instructions

We’re living in a time when our culture and our media offer emphatic representations of what success, happiness and fulfillment are supposed to be.

Thankfully, we still have free will and the right to choose who we want to be and how we want to do life.

My personal aim?

I’m striving to continually lean into the wisdom to always be true to yourself, no matter what.

This requires me to consistently carve out time to be still and quiet, so I can listen to and better know myself at every turn. When I hear from within, I am reminded of the values I want to inform my choices and the values that best align with my life’s purpose and goals.

Even with such focus, however, it’s important to remember that none of us is perfect. I – we – must be intent on moving with humility and generosity. We can’t dismiss, discard, disrespect or devalue others, for they are on uniquely divine journeys, too. In the circle of life’s reciprocity, what we render is also what we receive.

Consider joining me on this journey to honoring our truest and highest selves – the parts of us that operate with both heart and integrity. In doing so, I believe we’ll find the truest paths to success, inner joy (which supersedes happiness) and fulfillment.

Stay the Course

As we settle into fall and and race toward the end of the year, don’t fret over what you haven’t yet checked off your list of goals; be grateful for what you have managed to achieve, and more importantly, for how you’ve grown.

Assess how you’ve nurtured, cared for, loved or mentored others, and give thanks for those who have poured some measure of tenderness and time into you.

Lean into all that fall holds and don’t stop striving. Stay the course in becoming.

Cherish those who cherish you, yet love everyone unconditionally.

Generously support and serve others, yet set boundaries to protect your self-care. 

Forgive and forge ahead.  Laugh and lighten up.

Dance or walk in the rain. Take chances and embrace joy.

Appreciate each day and embrace the lessons that this season, and previous ones, have offered.

Make peace with your present. Set new goals and arch toward new moutains. 

Whatever you do, don’t dim your shine. As someone once said, keep being the light you are and others’ eyes will adjust.

You, me – we – are imperfectly human. But we’re here! And as long as we have breath, we’re meant to stay the course.

Lean Into the Shadows of You

September is a great time to determine what you’ll focus on pursuing or releasing the final few months of 2024. Your answers to these questions can pinpoint your heart’s desires, your life’s calling, or your need to delve deeper within. 

Set aside some quiet time to courageously listen, pray and journal. During that process, name your fears and claim the bold ideas and dreams that lie just beyond them.

Taking this path may require you to stand alone for a season – perhaps to foster your pruning and perfecting. 

On other days, you may be compelled to stand by as others race past – giving you an opportunity to celebrate their wins, as you take consistent steps in the right direction. (Trusting that there are enough to go around.) 

Every day, you can choose to stand in light and love, so that as you give it, you become it.  This effort may be the most important of all, so that as you lean into becoming “what” you have in mind, “who” you are becoming simultaneously aligns.

What better way would there be to end this year?

Stay on Your Path

Five years ago today, I posted the photo and the sentiments below about the start of September and the looming end of this year. All these years later, this digital journal entry of sorts still resonates and feels worth sharing.

As you launch into September 2024, may my reflections on walking my life’s path encourage you to more fully appreciate your own:

I entered the first day of September (2019) with a morning trek along a path that was brand new to me. It was beautiful, breezy and serene. 

I talked to God, and then I stilled myself to listen, even as my feet kept moving. 

Then I saw it – a juncture in the road where the paved path yielded to gravel – leading to uncultured, unknown territory, and to a bend around which I could not see.

I advanced a few feet, then retreated, deciding to explore more fully on another day.

For in that moment, I had all I needed – fresh air, a lush green setting and a visual reminder that at every turn, I am loved, worthy and deserving of joy. That was the response that filled my listening heart.

That walk reminded me that even when we’re on the right path, we’ll encounter some pebbles, stones, rough patches and dirt. We won’t always know the end before we begin or even when we’re mid-journey. Yet, that’s why it’s so important to enjoy each step of the journey itself and to find value in each phase. 

In the right season, at the appointed time, we will discover the beauty around those bends, and perhaps appreciate the extra effort (courage?) required to get there. 

Wherever we are on our path today, we can lean into the truths of how God has already blessed us. Think back over your life for a few minutes and count the ways. 

Then, set your intentions, determine what you’ll do next (or how you’ll surrender), and say “thank you” in advance for the good that lies ahead – on paved roads, gravelly paths, wood trails and all.

Simple Moments of Wonder

A late afternoon appointment yesterday took me to an area of town I used to frequent. As I passed the large lake with the walking trails I used to enjoy, I remembered the sneakers I keep in my trunk and decided that my Wednesday evening walk would be one down memory lane.

My trek around the lake was lovely and peaceful, and many of the markers I’d seen many times before struck me differently this time.

The matted goose “matter” I had to navigate along one tiny stretch of the otherwise pristine path was a reminder that sometimes we have to navigate around or through life’s muck and keep going, with our purposeful goal in mind. 

The sign asking walkers to use an underground tunnel, rather than cross the busy street to get from one side to the other, served as a metaphor for us sometimes needing to take the less-glitzy path to reach our destiny in a safe and timely manner. 

The Environmental Protection Area sign? A nod to remember that rules of conduct matter. What if we set boundaries around our hopes and dreams and hearts that allowed others to connect with us, yet only in enriching ways?

And then there were the lake, the small bridges and the path itself. All organic reminders of the Creator’s talent and majesty, and of our privilege to experience it – with the only cost being to help preserve it. 

What a walk. On a familiar path, yet enjoyed with child-like wonder.

Wherever your To Do List or path leads you today, consider experiencing some of it in silence, so you can fully see and hear what being present in those moments reveals to you. 

My mile-long adventure yielded gratitude that will linger.

Stacy’s shots along her walk. Chesterfield County, Virginia

U-Turns Are Allowed

Life is a gift that is meant to be unwrapped. Make the most of it by honoring those whispers in your heart. 

You may not get it right the first time, but a misstep may be part of your personal tango. A delay may not be a denial, and you shouldn’t automatically place a period where perhaps God is simply inserting a comma, for you to pause.

And guess what? U-Turns and detours are allowed, too.

On life’s path, listening, learning and walking out your destiny may require some or all of the above.

Just remember that there’s nothing lost or wasted if you’re paying attention and embracing the lessons you encounter along the way.

New visions and goals are also permissible. Challenge yourself to approach those opportunities with confidence, wisdom and self-respect.

Keep living life to the fullest – whatever that looks like for you in this season – and remember to give thanks along the way.

Late Summer Manifesto

Celebrate each day for the beauty it holds. 

Be the bigger person, no matter the curveballs tossed your way.

Embrace a glass-half-full attitude and 

Find silver linings in the surprises along your path.

Whatever the audience, show up in a way that honors who you are.

Speak truth with grace and let the rest take care of itself. 

Keep your eyes on the prize (your singular and beautiful purpose)

And continue to take the world by storm 

With your own unique brand of hope, laughter and love –

The greatest of these being Love. 

Encouraged by this Life Untapped blog post? Subscribe today to receive more of Stacy’s occasional musings – and share the link to this post with others in your circle!

Who’s Helping Steward Your Dreams?

You are the keeper and magnifier of your dreams; yet those who walk with you matter, too. 

Surround yourself with people who believe in you, encourage you and speak the truth – even when it equals tough love.

May those who walk in front of you pull you along when necessary and those who walk behind you gently push – whatever it takes to help you keep going, stay focused and achieve your goals with your integrity, confidence, joy and soul intact.

This is how you grow and thrive, and ultimately how you learn to invest in something bigger than yourself. 

Blessings are circular and connected.

All of us who succeed do so because of others’ loving support.

Just Because

Make this a “just because” kinda day.

Do a random act of kindness “just because.”

Hold your tongue “just because.”

Smile “just because.”

Give thanks “just because.”

Forgive “just because.”

Have fun “just because.”

Be happy “just because.”

All because life is a gift worth cherishing – your own as well as others.

Photo by Andreas Haslinger on Unsplash