2020 Affirmations during a Global Pandemic.
A good friend and mentor of mine Leslie Rogers once encouraged me to tell everyone I could that I was looking for work. She said you never know who is going to help connect you to your next opportunity.
Upon graduation from University of Michigan, that’s exactly what I did. I told everyone that asked and didn’t ask that I was moving to New York for an internship and looking for work. I was mostly wide open applying to jobs from coast to coast while avoiding “deep south” cities and ultra-rural states. I even applied to jobs in the UK. I told everyone Stephanie was looking for full time work.
It never dawned on me until now that my act of telling everyone was similar to sharing affirmations or speaking my desires into the atmosphere. Many have suggested to write your dreams, goals, and/or affirmations and put them up in places you can see them frequently.
After a rough end to 2019, Phillip and I did a couple devotionals together via the Bible App and a tip that stood out to me was to put up the areas or things in which you are in prayer about to remind you to pray about them. It reminded me about the value of speaking your wishes into the atmosphere and making your affirmations in a way public. You have to switch up your language and thought process all together to help manifest your goals.
So at the start of the year, pre-covid-19, cause we have to specify that these days, I thought about 3 major things influencing our lives, adding stress to our lives, and stirring up anxiety. I also thought about who Phillip and I are meant to be as a unit, the family we hope to have, and the change we seek bring to the world collectively and as individuals. With all those in mind, I pulled out my big sticky notes and wrote the following affirmations:
(1) “Next year 2021, we will buy a house”
(2) “My debt will soon be in the past”
(3) “I CAN and WILL make more money. I AM WORTHY of my dreams.”
These affirmations live in 3 key areas to ensure we see them multiple times a day. When we see it we have to read it aloud or to ourselves confidently. We stopped saying we hope to buy a house and started saying we will. We stopped saying we are poor and in debt and started saying my debt is almost gone. My debt will not define me. My debt will not be a concern forever. As artists it is very important to speak it into our lives that we are valuable. It is important to find a way to advocate for yourself in any area that you are underpaid. We are worthy of our dreams as individuals and as a unit. We have stories to tell, businesses to grow, and art to make and inspire change. All of those things require funding and we can achieve that, and we are worthy of it.
We ended February with a solid plan with our financial planner. She literally told us we can achieve everything we want to achieve with a plan and persistence. She noted that our budget was already super slim and we were not excessive spenders. The only thing that could help is to make more money. That was comforting to hear that we were not doing anything wrong. But it was also frustrating to think about picking up more side work to compensate for mediocre salaries and limited job opportunities.
This is a soap box of mine, and I could rant on it all day, but I won’t. I will simply say this: If you are an employer or someone in a position of power and authority ADVOCATE FOR HIGHER PAY. It’s not fair pay if the person’s salary can not afford them a place to live without roommates. It’s not fair pay if its in line with gender discriminated salary averages. It’s not okay to limit someone’s salary because they are young or new. It’s not okay to take advantage of those less likely to negotiate and self-advocate. An educated, experienced, and or qualified applicant should not have to work 2–3 jobs just to make rent. See their value and invest in their potential. When you invest in your staff, they’ll invest in you by staying. *steps off soapbox*
Between a global pandemic, the drowning of the travel and hospitality industry, to the nation I call home reminding me DAILY that my life and other Black Lives don’t matter it has been a rough ass year. And I know I am not alone in those sentiments. What has become a large part of my self-care are my affirmations, working toward those affirmations, and focusing on any little thing I can be grateful for.
I acknowledge my blessings every single day. We’ve been sheltering in place and staying at home for 6 months now. Two whole seasons! Michael’s sent me an email saying its Pumpkin spice season and I rolled my eyes. No thank you. How is it about to be fall? And I am in no mood for pumpkin spice season.
I’ve made a list of blessings I am grateful for in this time of coronavirus. In the list you’ll notice how many of them actually directly impact the affirmations I put around our home. Even in sadness, frustration, and uncertainty God still moves, there is still grace, there is still growth, there is still progress.
What I’m grateful for in this time of coronavirus:
(1) Good health.
(2) Our ability to work from home as paid employees.
(3) Phillip’s ability to teach virtually — TY KSU.
(4) Our savings of $120 a month that is no longer going to gas.
(5) Our ability to communicate with family more.
(6) Life and breath itself
(7) Art opportunities.
(8) New work opportunities
(9) Paid virtual speaking engagements
(10) Increased frequency of conversation with my best friends
(11) My oldest sister’s life and good health
(12)Lower home interest rates
(13) Cost of homes dropping
(14) Student Loan forbearance.
(15) Pause on interest on credit card debt.
(16) My therapist
(17) My health insurance.
(18) Virtual Vertical Joes
(19) Our ability to stick to our food budget.
(20) Food delivery folks
(21) Money saved and refunded from canceled travel plans.
(22) Our Financial planner
(23) Black Lives
(24) Getting to know my ancestors and distant family members.
(25) Rest
(26) Learning Experience Design community
(27) The African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta
(28) Environments and habitats finding some healing.
(29) An abundance of time with my husband.
I look forward to what the next year will bring. I look forward to the manifestation of our dreams. I look forward to these sticky note affirmations becoming a reality.
I encourage you to make a list of what has been a blessing for you in this time. What are you grateful for. Use this list to encourage yourself into action or comfort you in your low moments. Allow yourself to feel all your feelings and be encouraged by your ability to overcome despite your circumstances. It’s all in you.
Feel free to share your lists or line items in the comments below. Anyone is welcome to engage with me on Medium or Instagram @brownphotog or @createdbrown
Peace and Love.
