Getting Back in Routine | NATALIE PURSUE:INSPIRE

If you're anything like me, you've managed to hold a semi solid routine for a couple of weeks, Christmas has interupped and now you're stuggling hard to get back into the flow of things. Admittedly I took a break from my personal blogging platform and it's been a bit tricky to get back into the swing of pursuing and inspiring. 

HOWEVER!

The area of my life that has been the most affected by my lack of routine is my crown! She has been kind of neglected though protective styling with a wig. My habit of spritzing with water slowly dwindled and I wasn't adding extra moisture on top of that.

Luckily a fast approaching photoshoot made me more conscious of the state of my mane and after I shampoo, conditioned, moisturised and blow dried (for the first time in about a year or so I might add) my hair it felt great! I did also have to resurrect my conscious efforts to moisturise my hair and keep her healthy... and now she's back under a wig for a while.

I'm honestly feeling lazy when it comes to hair maintenence. I've had conversations with a few friends and my husband about cutting my hair and just starting all over again, but after my last wash day I realised that I just need to put specific goals in place. When you don't have goals you lose vision. That's why in Habbakuk it says “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it." I realise more and more that this also applies to my hair!

So briefly, what are my mane goals for 2017 and how do I plan to stick to them?

1) To maintain healthy hair by looking at past experiences, doing research and implementing a consistent routine;

2) Maintain length by keeping styling to a minimal and protecting my ends. I did some research and quite a few ladies mentioned that they only style their hair twice a weeks o I'm going to try this and see how it goes.

The beauty of goals and their execution is that they are subject to change as time goes by. I may find other ways to maintain length that don't necessarily work for one person but do for me. Also as mentioned in my previous post, it's ok if goals get broken as long as I get up and pick up from where I left off asap.

Do you have any hair struggles? Do you have any goals that you are working towards? Share them with us. You never know who may be helped by your comment!

Natalie | Pursue:Inspire

New Year OLD Me| BOLU NOELLE

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I know I'm late. SORRY😊

This post isn't so much a new years resolution situation.. more self reflection.
At some points in the last couple of years, I've found myself straying.
Straying from the woman I want to be, the woman I prayed to be and in general the woman I thought I would be.
As much as I worry what other people think about that, I am constantly reminded of the following:

1) Everything happens for a reason.
Now, this is one of those supposed-to-be-comforting statements that no one actually likes or wants to hear. But the truth is there are a number of scenarios which have happened in both my life and friends lives where we have experienced things as a learning curve.
And sometimes, you might just end up thanking the lord that you experienced that thing when you did and not at a more crucial point in life.
Essentially, I've realised that I've made mistakes, let anxiety take over and been inconsistent with myself too much.
But I'd rather learn all of this now when it's more forgiving, than 10 years down the line, when such mistakes can have more permanent results.

2) You have to forgive yourself.
In a religious context, God has already forgiven the more sinful mistakes. I have to forgive myself for those and also the mistakes which are not so much breaking the societal or religious law, but inhibiting my success.
Self forgiveness is key. You can't enter into all that life has for you carrying the burdens of 2009.

For me, a few years ago, if you'd asked me what my morals, value and goals were and who the woman I wanted to be now was, it isn't 100% where I am. A few years ago I was more serious and disciplined with myself, and that's where I plan to be again. Just a little wiser this time.

It's okay to have fallen
It's okay to have strayed
It's okay to have got lost in the stew

But remember who you are and get back on track.


I really hope this helps somebody ❤

Love and litness,

Bolu Noelle

x

Resolutions | NATALIE PURSUE:INSPIRE

Happy new year beauties! 

I hope you had a great Christmas and great start into the 2017!

We're 7 days into January! Do you have any New Years resolutions? Have you broken any already? Have you given up or feel like you're about to give up?

Rest assured you're NOT the only one! Whether it be beauty, business, hair related, etc, thousands if not millions of people have dashed their resolutions at some point and waited until the next year to pick up where they left off. I've been on of this email people too, but in the midst of that I have learnt some valuable lessons:

Goals get broken...

...and that's ok. We are not going to get something 100% the first couple times we try. Life tries to distract us. Emotions will be sure to dampen us. Acknowledge this and it'll make it easier to move forward in your aims.

Don't wait until next year to start again!

Consistency is very key. If you've let go of an aim, don't wait 11 months to start planning how you are going to get there again. Start again now! Be active, conscious and consistent in continuing where you left off asap and positive habits will get much easier.

Don't beat yourself up if you break a goal.

Relating to my first point... don't get yourself down because then you start thinking negatively about yourself and will prevent yourself from reaching your desired destination. You can sulk for a bit, but bring yourself out of that state and get back up again. 

There are still 358 days remaining this year.

This means there are still 358 new opportunities for you to grab onto...

358 days to start and maintain your visions and dreams...

358 days to fail and get back on track...

We are humans and we're not all perfect. I've found that being conscious of this, but not using it as an excuse to stop,  has helped me be more consistent and positive in my activities. This year let's stop putting pressure on ourselves to be instantly perfect and enjoy the journey to self-improvement.

Feel free to share your resolutions with us and how you plan to get to your end goal by commenting below!

Natalie | @pursueinspire