Our tools and tips come directly from our podcast episodes. To fully understand the context of our tools & tips, please listen to each podcast episode (37. A New You: E1 – Getting to Know an Overcomer, 38. A New You: E2 – Getting to Know an Overcomer II, 39. A New You: E3 – Tools & Tips for an Overcomer). Lastly, we recommend picking one or two items to start focusing on. Jot down how you want to put these things into practice as well as your progression in them. When you are proactive in taking small steps, before you know it, you would have walked a mile, or two, or three.
- Self – Care: I spoke briefly at the beginning of the interview about self-care. Self-care comes in many forms from resting, taking care of your body, i.e. what you drink, what eat, exercising. It also comes in the form of taking time for yourself to recover from life’s ups and downs. Yes, your healing journey constitutes self-care.
- Healthy Habits: In your healing journey, it is necessary to establish healthy habits in dealing with our emotions so that they do not destroy us. It is crucial to identify and seek additional support for those emotions that we tend to stuff. We are not meant to carry these burdens internally.
- Self – Worth: Finding your self-worth is so key as you heal from emotional wounds. When we do not fully grasp or understand our worth, we allow others to tell us. Usually how they view us pales in comparison to how God views us and how He created us. Also, when we do not know our worth, we develop toxic relationships. We will continue to talk about this essential principle throughout the podcast series.
- God is with us: Despite our suffering, God is with us. No matter what life tells us or what other people tell us, we were created in God’s image. God is always with us and always loves us.
- Find Safe People: We always stress (the we include interviews with others) finding safe people. Even though people have hurt us and caused our wounds, there are still positive people who can support us as we heal. They provide the human reflection of God’s love, mercy, and grace. Yes, ladies, find these safe people. Please pick-up a copy of Safe People by Cloud and Townsend.
- Journaling: An overcomer’s tool is journaling. Journaling helps in so many ways. It allows us to bring clarity to our feelings and emotions. It helps us to articulate what is truly happening in our innermost being.
- Expose the Pain: In the interview, I spoke about my abuser. The interviewer was surprised that I did not bash or speak harshly about the person. I want to clarify my statements. I am not at all saying that what the person did to me was okay. I will never say that. Experiencing his abuse caused so many long-term problems for me. Also, if you had similar experiences, I stress that the person’s behavior is never acceptable or condonable or that it was your fault. Never! What you hear in the interview is that through therapy and healing, I was able to no longer allow the trauma to own my life. I exposed it so that I can live. Any abuse or poor treatment does not have the power or right to tell me or you that I am not worth living or having a good life. So, ladies, this tip is simply exposing the pain with the right people (not your neighbor, or sometimes best friend, but those who have the tools to get you to the next level, so that you can diminish the power that trauma produces.
- God Heals: Allow God to transform your suffering into healing. To do this, find ways to make God accessible and tangible in your life. For me, it was digging deeper into His word and believing what He says about me. I want to iterate what God says and not the minister who is trying to make me feel guilty. But rather understanding those items that cause more harm and why God says to stay away from them.
- Overcome Fears: Begin overcoming fears that keep you trapped in the comfort that is causing more destruction. Instead, find safe and healthy habits.
- Do the Work: Overcoming requires investing, consistency, and continually working the previous tools and tips. As I stated, some days will be good and some will be bad. But I think we all heard the statement that Rome was not built overnight. Yes, taking back your life requires persistence and commitment to a new you!!
Now you probably did not realize that these two episodes were loaded with tools and tips. Please note that throughout the series, we will revisit these awesome tools and tips. They are the fabricate for long-term transformation. Stay tuned for the highlights.