Tag: Visualize

Posted in inspiration, life experience, Self Improvement, Uncategorized

Living With Intention: 24 Days In, and My Mind Is Quiet

Posted on by affirmationofvisions

I didn’t start this on January 1st.
I started on December 26th. Something in me knew I didn’t need a “new year” to begin. I just needed a decision.

My intention for 2026 was simple but not easy:
to stop living in my head and start living in the moment.

I have a habit of overthinking.
Replaying the past.
Worrying about the future.
Letting anxiety write stories about things that haven’t even happened yet. And when I really sit with that truth, most of my stress isn’t caused by real events. It’s caused by my thoughts about them. My reactions. My rushing. My fear of what might be.

Anxiety, when you break it down, is just future worry.
And peace lives in the present.

So I made a promise:
I would live each day with intention.
And I would write every single day for 365 days.

Not to vent.
Not to complain.
Not to immortalize chaos.

But to notice.
To reflect.
To be grateful.
To learn.

Every entry starts with gratitude. Usually something as simple as:
“Today was a good day because…”

Some days the list is long.
Some days it’s short.
Some days I’m honest enough to say:
“There isn’t much to report today. This was a quiet, ordinary day. And that’s okay.”

Because not every day is meant to be exciting. Some days are just meant to exist.

I also decided something else that felt powerful:
I wouldn’t name people.
I wouldn’t place blame.
I would write about experiences, lessons, and growth. Not wounds.

And every single entry ends the same way:

Living today with intention.
— Mercy

That line anchors me. It reminds me that the day is complete. That I showed up. That I was present.

Today is January 18th.
Which means I’ve been doing this for 24 days.

Twenty-four days of choosing not to make chaos permanent.
Twenty-four days of allowing frustration to pass instead of turning it into ink.
Twenty-four days of honoring the day as a gift, even when it wasn’t easy.

And here’s the most unexpected part:

My mind is quiet.

Today is Sunday. Normally, Sundays used to come with anxiety.
The “week is starting” stress.
The mental checklist.
The anticipation of everything waiting for me.

But today?
My mind is calm.

I have plans, yes.
But they’re a blueprint, not a prison.

I’ve learned that structure helps me stay grounded, but surrender is where magic lives. Some of my best days have been the ones that went completely off-plan. The days I let flow. The days I stopped forcing and started trusting.

Have all 24 days been perfect? Absolutely not.

There were days I caught mistakes.
Days I was aggravated at work.
Days I wanted to lose my patience entirely.

I complained. I reacted. I felt human.

But when I got home, I didn’t give those moments permanent residence in my journal. I let them pass through me instead of defining me. I refused to stain an entire day with one heavy moment.

That was the difference.

Living with intention doesn’t mean living without frustration.
It means choosing what deserves permanence.

And what I’ve discovered is this:
Peace isn’t something you find.
It’s something you protect.

This practice hasn’t “fixed” me. I wasn’t broken.
But it has softened me.
Quieted me.
Returned me to myself.

I’m excited to see what writing every day with gratitude, reflection, and hope will do over time.
If 24 days can bring this much clarity, I can only imagine what a year will bring.

Living with intention works.
Not because life becomes easier,
but because you become steadier.

And right now, that’s exactly what I needed.

Living today with intention.
— Mercy

Posted in life experience, Self Improvement

Everyone Should Record One Ugly-Cry Video (Trust Me)

Posted on by affirmationofvisions

I firmly believe everyone should record at least one ugly crying video during a personal crisis.

Let me be clear:
This is not for posting.
This is not for content.
This is not a “soft sad aesthetic with perfect lighting and a single tear.”

No. This is a full-blown, unfiltered, windshield-in-the-background, mascara-smudged, mouth-contorted, breathing-like-you-just-ran-a-marathon cry.

And the funniest part?
The setup.

Because in the middle of your emotional collapse, you still somehow think, “Let me prop my phone up real quick.”You’re adjusting angles, checking lighting, making sure your phone doesn’t fall, like, priorities. You’re in shambles, but still directing your own low-budget documentary.

I recorded one of these a while back. Totally forgot about it.
Fast forward to today: I’m cleaning up my phone, deleting old videos, feeling productive… and BAM.

There she is.

Me.
In my car.
Crying like an absolute idiot.
About being lonely.

I almost dropped my phone laughing.

First of all, there is nothing cute about crying. Anyone who says “crying can be beautiful” has never seen themselves mid-sob with their face doing things it has no business doing. My face looked like it was trying to escape my skull.

Second of all, the DRAMA.

I was watching it thinking, “Girl… if I could reach through this phone and slap you, I would.” The things I was crying over? The people? The situations? The absolute bare minimum I was begging for?

Embarrassing.
Historic levels of embarrassing.

What makes it even better is that now I’m out here writing blogs about how I can’t stand needy people. Meanwhile, past me was like, “Please love me” in surround sound. The irony is loud.

But here’s the thing: watching that video did something unexpected.

It reminded me that:

  1. Emotions are temporary. What feels like the end of the world today becomes comedy later.
  2. Growth is real. You don’t notice it while it’s happening, but playback does not lie.
  3. Humor is healing. Because honestly? That video deserves background music. Maybe a sad violin. Maybe something dramatic. Maybe a full voiceover just roasting myself.

I mean, journaling about my feelings is one thing. Writing about my wall? Fine. But physically watching myself cry like a jerk?

Top-tier comedy.
Five stars.
Highly recommend.

So no, don’t post it. Don’t share it. Don’t send it to friends.
Record it for you.

Because one day, future you is going to stumble across it, laugh until you snort, shake your head, and think, “Wow. Look at me now.”

And honestly?
That alone makes it worth pressing record. 😌

Posted in inspiration, life, life experience, love, Self Improvement

Maybe It’s Me, And I’m Finally Ok With That

Posted on by affirmationofvisions

Earlier today, a coworker casually asked me about my recent dating experience. Without overthinking it, I said what I’ve said before: he was too needy.

She smiled and said, “You know… you said the same thing about the last person you dated.”

I laughed. But this time, instead of brushing it off, I paused. And for the first time, I said out loud, “Maybe it’s me.”

That thought stayed with me longer than I expected. So later, out of curiosity, I decided to look inward instead of outward. I asked myself, and yes, ChatGPT, what kind of attachment style I actually have.

Because here’s the truth: I genuinely love love. I love the beginning of a connection. I love meeting someone new, the conversations that flow easily, the curiosity, the excitement of learning someone’s mind. That stage feels light, fun, alive.

But there’s a very specific moment when something shifts for me.

It’s when the connection stops feeling like two people choosing each other and starts feeling like someone attaching themselves to me emotionally. When all of my time is suddenly expected. When from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep, I feel like I have to be “on.” When my life quietly becomes someone else’s routine.

That’s when I feel myself pulling back.

I don’t find it romantic when someone doesn’t have a full life of their own. When their interests fade, their world shrinks, and everything begins to revolve around me. Instead of feeling desired, I feel responsible. Instead of feeling connected, I feel drained. And if I’m being honest, it becomes deeply unattractive to me.

What surprised me most is that this doesn’t come from fear. I’m not afraid of intimacy. I don’t avoid closeness. What I avoid is enmeshment.

The attachment style that best describes me is often referred to as secure-avoidant, someone who values emotional connection but also deeply values autonomy. Someone who wants love, but not at the cost of losing themselves. Someone who thrives in relationships where closeness is intentional, not automatic.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized this isn’t limited to romantic relationships at all.

I’ve never been the person who needs to see the same friend every single day. I’ve had the same close circle of friends my entire life, but I’ve always valued space. Even with family, whom I adore, I can happily spend a day or two together, but by the third day, I crave time alone. Not because I don’t love them, but because that’s how I stay grounded in who I am.

That’s just my nature.

What I’ve come to understand is that I haven’t yet found someone whose rhythm truly matches mine, someone who enjoys their own company, has their own passions, their own routines, their own inner world. Someone who doesn’t need me to fill every space, but still chooses to share space with me.

I don’t want distance.
I don’t want constant closeness either.

I want balance.

I want a relationship where two independent people walk alongside each other, not one person becoming the other’s entire world. I want connection without pressure, love without obligation, and intimacy that feels chosen every day, not assumed.

So maybe it is me.

And maybe that doesn’t mean something is wrong.

Maybe it just means I know myself now.

Posted in inspiration, life, life experience, Self Improvement

Writing My Way Back to Myself

Posted on by affirmationofvisions

Many people would probably find this hard to believe, especially knowing that I’ve spent over 20 years in payroll, benefits, and various realms of accounting. I’ve built an entire adult career around numbers, systems, and structure. But at my core, I’ve always been a writer.

When I was a little girl, my dream wasn’t spreadsheets or reconciliations, it was words. I went to FIU and studied journalism, with a minor in marketing. I wanted to write for newspapers, to tell big stories, to be part of the news. Looking back now, and seeing where the news industry has gone, I can honestly say I’m not upset that life had other plans for me.

Life happened. I got married. I got divorced. I needed stability. Jobs required business degrees, finance, accounting, human resources, so I walked back into school, changed my major, and moved forward with a different path. And I won’t say I regret it. I genuinely enjoy what I do, especially now working more closely with benefits and having opportunities to support employees directly. I’m good at my job, and I take pride in that.

But I’d be lying if I said I never wonder.
I wonder where life might have gone had I given writing the same dedication I gave my career. Writing has always been there, quietly. I’ve kept blogs for years, writing my thoughts, my stories, my challenges, my growth. Not for an audience. Most people don’t even know they exist. But somehow, writing has always helped me reflect, to look back and realize that I did survive, that I did overcome.

In a way, I’ve become a life blogger,not for money, not for likes, but for myself.

2025 has been a year of reflection. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I do what I do professionally to provide, to put food on the table, to be responsible. But something in me is asking for more, something creative, something meaningful. Not just for me, but for others too.

I want to help people who feel stuck. People who feel like they’re drowning. Sometimes I want to say, “Stand up, you’re in one foot of water. I promise you, it’s going to be okay.” I see people hiding behind excuses, and all I want to tell them is: you’ve got this. Everything you need to save yourself is already inside you.

I recently shared on LinkedIn about journaling and blogging, about how writing allows you to connect the dots backward and finally understand why certain things had to happen. That perspective changes everything.

So I’ve decided I’m going to write again. I’m going to share more.

For me, 2026 will be intentional. Not in the cliché, New Year’s resolution kind of way,but in a way where every day holds meaning. Every day will be written in gratitude, even through struggle, even through worry. And when my thoughts feel worthy of being shared, I’ll share them.
The most interesting part? This isn’t about money. It never has been.

This is about finally giving life to the one part of me I’ve kept quiet for too long. Writing is the thing I love most, the thing I suppressed while I focused on survival and responsibility. And now, I finally know what I want to write about. I finally feel excited to share.

This next chapter isn’t about surviving anymore, it’s about living, with intention, and showing my children what it looks like to honor who you truly are.

Posted in inspiration, life, life experience, love

Surrender, but Still Hope

Posted on by affirmationofvisions

There comes a time when you stop chasing and start surrendering. I’ve reached that point, where I’ve handed it all to God. I trust that whatever is meant for me will find me, in its time and in its way.

But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still wish.

I wish for those simple, beautiful things, wine nights on the porch with someone who feels like home. Dates that don’t feel like effort, but excitement. Someone who looks forward to seeing me, just as much as I look forward to seeing him. I don’t necessarily need marriage or a big fairytale ending, I just want that kind of love that feels easy and real.

Someone who makes me laugh until my stomach hurts. Who loves country music as much as I do, who wants to go to concerts, cheer for their favorite team, and spend weekends with family. Someone who’s just present. Who calls because they want to hear my voice, not because it’s a routine.

I want love that doesn’t feel forced, not for me, and not for him. The kind that just flows because both people want to be there.

So yes, I surrender to God. I let go of control and stop searching so hard. But surrender doesn’t mean I’ve stopped hoping. My heart still whispers for that connection, that genuine, wholehearted love.

If it’s meant for me, it will come.
And when it does, I’ll be ready, ready to pour into it the same love I’ve been saving all along.