Category: love

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Remember When

Can you remember the last time that you were excited by the ordinary? I’m talking about those simple pleasures that we often taken for granted like nature, peace, love and even silence. Oftentimes we find ourselves caught up in acquiring more, achieving more and constantly looking for the next promotion, elevation or fancy purchase that we believe will help us to find happiness.

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of watching my grandbaby experience excitement from being able to play with a lid. As I watched her face glow with amusement, I could only think about how easy it is to forget about the simple things that once provided us with joy.

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“I have three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.” `Lao Tzu

Today I am sharing 3 tips about simplicity, patience and compassion that may help you live a happier life.

  1. Living a life of simplicity will help you focus on what is important. Let me first start by saying that simplicity looks different for everyone and only you can decide what simplicity looks like for you. Personally I enjoy things with low or no maintenance, little fuss and very little worry. I normally spend more time, money and energy researching a product or service before making a purchase to alleviate or reduce the amount of stress that comes with a lot of wear and tear. Because I am a person who experiences anxiety when things are out of order, I attempt to maintain as much order as possible by keeping it simple.
  2. Be patient with yourself and others. Patience is important because it helps you build empathy for others and accept people for who they are. That last statement is so true but please understand that having patience with yourself is priority number one because it helps you become more tolerant of the different stages of life that you will experience. There will come a time when you feel inadequate. Instead of getting discouraged and beating yourself up remember to exercise patience!
  3. Extend compassion as often as possible. Have you ever found yourself saying, “it’s always something,” or “why can’t I ever catch a break?” The people around you are saying the same statements to themselves. Be kind and extend compassion to the next person because everyone is experiencing life and sometimes life can be tough.

Fill your life with simplicity, patience and compassion to not only live happier but also to live healthier. Incorporating these tips can reduce your stress level and boost your immune system.

In my last post I challenged you to make a list of the people, places, things and experiences that add peace to your life. If you’re not familiar, catch up by reading

Grace & Mercy Have My Back

Now that you have your list, use the following scale to rank the level of peace each item adds:

  • 1-not much peace
  • 2- moderate amount of peace
  • 3-extreme peace

To elevate your Peace Factor spend more time focusing on the items ranked with a 3, determine if items ranked with a 2 can be elevated to a three and consider what changes should be made to remove or redefine items ranked with a 1.

This exercise can be challenging. If at anytime you feel yourself needing support simply email me at: info@designedbymelissarivers.com

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Professional Habits To Maintain in Your 40’s That Will Keep You Feeling Peaceful

As a forty-something female professional, there are habits that you can implement or release that will boost your professional self-confidence and empower you to trust yourself more.

If you’ve been in your current position for an extended period of time, you may feel underwhelmed and uninspired. It may be difficult for you to focus on your work and deliver your absolute best. Unless you work for yourself or you operate the family business, this can be a real problem. Depending on who’s watching, you could find yourself in a situation where management doesn’t feel like you take your responsibilities seriously. If you work for yourself and fail to deliver a stellar product, you could appear as an amateur to those you conduct business with.

When I returned to work after recovering from cancer, I was my biggest critic. I felt insecure about my appearance and I didn’t feel on top of my game because personal development and professional training had taken a back seat to my recovery. I was also well over 40 and the corporate workplace was now flooded with Millennials!

Upon returning, there were several things that I did to boost my confidence. Today I am sharing 3 of my signature tips that will help you operate from a place of grace instead of  a place of constant hustle.

The objectives are to be more polished, to trust yourself more and to feel good about who you are!

  1. Develop and implement a morning routine.
    • Wake up early, spend time in prayer, affirm what you want and meditate on the good, positive situations that you are welcoming into your day.
  2. Release actions that are unnecessary.
    • If you’re a woman who constantly apologizes even when situations do not warrant an apology, Stop. Over apologizing makes it appear that you are unsure you belong in the room. When these feeling arise (Imposter Syndrome) remember; you did the work to be in the room and grace elevates you further than effort ever will, Receive It.
  3. Remain Inspired.
    • If you’re not excited by your work, find inspiration in the daily details. Examine your partnerships, goals, expected outcomes and even your clothing and accessories to find inspiration. I recently found inspiration in a pair of beautiful, hand-crafted earrings which where created by Angelique Car, owner of tha dak brand.

      Check out these beauties!

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Are you inspired yet!?!

I’m inspired by the collaboration and individuality of the materials that were used. Each element has a specific purpose and performs a distinct role in the overall design. These earrings simply make me happy and that’s exactly what our clothing and accessory choices should do.

Here’s what Angelique has to say about her designs:

“Each pair of earrings are unique and one of a kind. I allow my creative wave to do it’s thing in the moment. Sometimes I come up with designs that really show what my mood was at that time. I feel like that’s what makes them so special, they are genuinely made with a little soul and a lot of life! I am at a very happy place in my life right now, and I am grateful that I can birth something that allows me to share that with the world.”

I can’t help but think about the individual gifts and talents that women posses. We are strong, resilient, tender and creative all at the same damn time.

At any given point we have the flexibility and ingenuity to pull from those resources to accomplish our goals and to create something beautiful. When opportunities arise for us to combine our gifts with the gifts of the next woman, we can come together and make a beautiful masterpiece, just like those earrings!

As promised, I have one more bonus tip for you.

  1. BONUS – Find your passion and cultivate it.
    • Peace is my passion. With my passion I choose to teach conflict resolution strategies to women that provide guidance for mental clarity, self-preservation and service to others. I also create courses that empower women to trust themselves more! This is my passion and how I use it. To discover your passion, grab my e-book; Design Your Happy Track To Peace and schedule a Consultation so we can chat!

If you are interested in learning more about Angelique and her upcoming fall collection, check her out on Instagram at: @thadakbrand or shoot her an Email at thadakbrand@gmail.com. You can also find her on Facebook at: tha dak brand.

If you’re a female business owner or simply a female with a positive and uplifting message to share, let’s link up! I would love to feature you on my blog and learn more about what you’re up to.

Create Your Peace!

Melissa

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When Good is No Longer Good Enough

Peace Up! It’s been a while since my last post. In my absence I hope that life has been good to you and I hope that you’ve been good to yourself. I pray that you’ve taken time to indulge in things that you love and that you’ve experienced happiness and joy. As the saying goes, “life is not a dress rehearsal,” so get out there and live it!

Since my last post, I’ve turned the big 44. This is a huge deal for me because my birthday signifies another year of surviving and overcoming. Along with my 44th birthday, I celebrate being 4 years cancer free and 4 years free from a troubled marriage.

Life is good.

Life is really good but in this next year, good is no longer good enough. I’m ready for the exciting, adventurous and spontaneous.

I’m ready to start living again and experiencing new things. I’ve been in maintenance mode for far too long. Protecting my peace and preserving my happiness has been defined as making sure problems get solved, ends meet and opportunities are realized. I need a new definition. I need to incorporate things that I love such as: relaxing by the lake, driving to the mountains, hanging with friends and making time for self-care.

This one life that I’ve been blessed with, deserves an overhaul.

I’m sure that I’m not alone. Have you reached a placed in your life that no longer represents who you are or what you stand for? Are you ready to create new memories? Is good no longer good enough?

Now’s the time.

It’s time to choose different and to choose better. Peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but also the inclusion of all the things that celebrate who you are!

Challenge:

  • Make a list of the things that make you happy but you seldom experience. As a child I loved gymnastics and ballet. I haven’t participated in those activities in years but the memories always make me smile.
  • Once you’ve compiled your list, be the first person to send me your list in an email and you could win a free sample of my Peaceful Herbal Tea. Send your email to:info@designedbymelissarivers.com.
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Your Heart Is Bigger Than You Think

I used to think that I only had a limited amount of space in my heart to love and appreciate certain situations, including people. I was convinced that my capacity meter for “stuff” was on the fairly low side. Over the years I’ve been met with unexpected events that challenged my perceived personal truths but also ignited my will to overcome and win. I’ve learned that people are designed to be durable and flexible if we choose to operate at full capacity. Today, I am sharing 3 points of action with you, that will help you create more space in your heart to accept, embrace and handle whatever you find yourself dealing with.

  1. Understand why life has presented you with this opportunity

One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is; Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”  From this scripture, I am reassured that unexpected events can actually be a blessing in disguise. When the event is truly embraced, our thoughts aren’t directly centered on our personal needs alone and we are challenged to think higher and to make peace with the situation

2.  Focus only on what you have control over

Focus and take action on what you can control and have faith that the things you can’t control will also get taken care of. I’ve learned that good things are often orchestrated on my behalf simply because I did my part and showed up when it was my time to perform. You can find opportunities to be a blessing to others when they least expect it. Believe that the people you are connected to can’t fully do their work/assignment until you complete yours, and you can’t complete your work until others complete theirs. Things that we don’t have control over aren’t ours to control, they are simply an associated assignment. It’s not yours to handle but it is connected to you

3. Remain present and at peace

Do what you can today in order to accept what you’re facing. Taking small, daily steps toward acceptance will open your heart to new capacities of love and will help you navigate through unexpected change.

Challenge: Think about the most intensive challenge that you are currently facing and decide that you are going to rise to the occasion. What can you do today to embrace the change and release negative thoughts surrounding it. How will you show up? Who will you become after it’s over?

Note: To the Origins of Peace community, “thank you all so much for following the blog and for connecting with me in so many different ways. Effective immediately, blog posts will release once a month on or around the 10th of each month, and the Heal, Recover, Grow Newsletter will release quarterly. The next issue is scheduled to release on July 1st.”

You can always connect with me on all social media as Origins of Peace or by emailing me at: info@designedbymelissarivers.com

Peace In Action,

Melissa

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The Makings of You

Hi there & Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope everyone is doing well and feeling great! I am excited to share today’s post with you. As promised, I am focusing on song lyrics this month and creating a quick, snippet of inspiration based off of a line or verse.

I heard a little of “The Makings of You,” by Curtis Mayfield the other night and I’ve been listening to it since that day. Beautiful song! For all you lovebirds out there, I recommend playing it for Valentine’s Day. It might score you some extra love points. You can thank me later.

I am inspired by the lyrics, “these are the makings of you, it is true, the makings of you.”

Your presence excites me

The thought of you makes my heart pound

And when I see you, I anticipate the moment that you acknowledge me and say hi

You are wise and kind and gentle with your words. Your affection cannot be duplicated

Your gaze of admiration makes me giddy and vulnerable all at the same time

You have that effect on me

I want to know all about you

How you think and why

You embody love, humility, strength and wisdom

You make me better, not just me but everyone you meet

“These are the true makings of you”

Go in peace and find somebody to make you feel giddy and vulnerable all at the same time. 

~Peace

 

 

 

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Do You!

Hi PeaceMakers! I am so excited to have you on my site today! Thanks for your continued support and encouragement.

What’s My Intent for this post: My intention is to give you a quick word of encouragement. With that said, if this is your first time checking me out, My name is Melissa Rivers and I am a Peace Coach. Most of the time, I coach entrepreneurs in their quest to plan, build and manage a business that is authentic to their unique gifts and talents. In addition to that I coach women in designing self-care routines that promote mental clarity, self-preservation and service to self.

What’s Important for you to know: Both my Leadership Academy & Personal Coaching programs are heart centered.  Together, you & I sit down and create a Peace Map that will help you peacefully move through your leadership development program or your current crisis situation. I’ve assisted clients during career, finance, relationship and health transitions. What are my qualifications? I have a full-fledged Master’s degree in Peace & Conflict Studies, I am a  Certified Change Manager and a Certified Lean Six Sigma Professional. That means, I have the necessary skill-set to help you identify the underlying issues, create a plan of change and give you the steps to make that change  part of your normal routine.

What Matters: I stopped by today with a word of encouragement. “Don’t be afraid to build your business your way”. If you don’t hear anything else that I say to you, hear this. It is perfectly okay to do you and to pursue a business that makes you feel good, provides a useful service to others and that caters to your unique gifts & talents. I was recently told that you can’t create a profitable business from doing the things that you like to do and if it makes you feel good, it’s a hobby.

A hobby?    Wrong, wrong & wrong! With the right mentor and tools, you can turn your passion into a successful business that feeds your spirit and your pockets.

I invite you to sign up for my N.I.C.E Mentoring program today. Click here to get started!

Don’t give others the power to deter you from following your heart and pursuing a cause that you truly believe in. Peace is my cause and I am all in. Too many women in our community deal with setbacks from infidelity issues, unexpected health diagnosis and sudden job loss, just to name a few.

There is a map to peace during the crisis. Let me help you figure it out.Screenshot_20190128-190406

If you’re local to the Charlotte, NC Metro area. Join me on March 2nd for “No More Struggle Prayers.” This is an interactive creative writing course where I teach you how to compose prayers that are filled with language to inspire, uplift and encourage! Click here to register.

 

 

 

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My Game Plan

Hello PeaceMakers! I hope this post finds you well. If you are new to my site, my name is Melissa Rivers and I am a Peace Coach. I help entrepreneurs plan, manage and build a peaceful, authentic business that aligns to their personal gifts and talents. I also assist women in their quest for mental clarity, self-preservation and service to self through goal setting and intentional self-care. If you haven’t already subscribed to my blog, I invite you to take a leap of faith and join my community of PeaceMakers who are loving themselves and feeling great through the process.

I read an article today that says Oprah Winfrey starts every meeting by asking three questions. What’s our intention? What’s important? and What Matters? To better serve you, I am going to implement this same practice into my posts.

So What’s My Intention? The intention for today’s post is to share my Game Plan with you. We started the year off by discussing Spiritual Wellness. You’ve been introduced to fasting, meditation, visualization and affirmations. I even told you how I developed 5 of my favorite affirmations. If you haven’t yet listened to my last blog post, you can do so by clicking the following link: This Is What Happened.

With January coming to a close, We will transition to topics focusing on Emotional Wellness.

So What’s Important? It’s important for you to know that your Emotional Wellness is your Inner Strength. How you deal with your emotions, be them positive or negative effects your level of self-care and your ability to relax and handle stress. As your Peace Coach, I am here to help you build your inner strength muscles.

And What Matters? is that February is packed full of great opportunities to love on yourself by subscribing to my blog. Simply go to Originsofpeace.com and sign up. Each post in February will be inspired by a poem or lyrics to a song. If you would like to recommend a poem or song, please feel free to leave a comment on my page or you can email OriginsofPeace@gmail.com. My first post for February is entitled, Could We Agree to Meet at Maybe? I was inspired by the poem Wild Geese, written by Mary Oliver. Second, I am opening registration for my newest program entitled, No More Struggle Prayers. This is a creative writing program where you will learn how to create bold and confident prayers and affirmations. Please be on the look out for details coming soon.

So there it is, my Game Plan in less than 500 words.

Thank you for your support.

Peace Up,

Melissa

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My Soul Says Yes

Being emotionally well means that you have the ability to be aware of and accept your feelings, rather than deny them. You’re attentive to your thoughts, feelings and behaviors, both positive and negative.

I work with many women who carry an immense amount of guilt for various reasons. They feel guilty for settling in life, love and career. They feel guilty for occasionally wanting to choose themselves and say no to the demands of others. They feel guilty for wanting to be number one but always settling for a lower position.

This guilt carries a lot of weight and many adverse affects. Before you know it, feelings of stress and overwhelm consume you and you’ve lost your true self. You’re no longer the bold and confident woman that you once were.

When is enough…enough? When is it okay to put yourself first? Do you even know how to ask for better treatment and what does better treatment look like for you?

My goal as a Peace Coach is to help re-write your personal narrative. If you’re currently living a life that is not authentic to who you truly are, allow me to help you find your “Origins of Peace.”

Your “Origins of Peace” are the fundamental necessities that keep you grounded and at ease. The circumstances of life tend to make us forget what makes us happy, peaceful and full of joy. I can help you reconnect the dots.

If you are experiencing a disconnect in your life, start by reciting the Personal Plea below to make room for peace in your life.

Personal Plea

It’s me oh Lord. Standing in the need of being free from myself. Free from fear, self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy. These feelings have prevailed for far too long.

No longer do I want to worry about trivial matters that highjack my attention and hold my emotions hostage.

Today I will focus on calming the noise, accepting my vulnerabilities and being free to explore new perspectives.

No more mental battles. No more thoughts of defeat.

No more.

My Soul says yes to change. Restore my compassion towards myself. Renew my mind from crippling information. Touch me so that I am made whole.

I am strong and mighty in the earth. I have purpose and a mission to complete.

Thank you God for leading the way.

Much Love,

Melissa

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Be A Living Demonstration

Starting the New Year with renewed perspective. “It’s not always about what you do. Oftentimes it’s about how you do it.” Here’s to a year of saying yes to yourself and no to what you simply don’t want to do.🎉

” We carry the message in many small, subtle, but powerful ways. We do our own-recovery work and become a living demonstration of hope, self-love, comfort and health. These quiet behaviors can be a powerful message.” – The Language of Letting Go (Melody Beattie)

The best way to make an impact on others is to be a living demonstration of the message you want to communicate.

Many talk about self-love in public but fail to demonstrate it in their private lives.

A thorough self-love routine can include pampering and relaxation but more importantly it should involve setting boundaries, making time for self and doing things that promote positive mental and physical health.

Setting boundaries is how we demonstration our love of self to others. If we’re constantly saying yes, over-extending ourselves and repeatedly putting the needs of others ahead of our own, we’ve failed to establish necessary boundaries in our lives. The problem with always being available and always saying yes is that you eliminate time to be still and self-evaluate. If you’re constantly chasing everyone else’s needs you could miss those internal signals that alert you when things are going wrong internally.

The best way to set personal boundaries is to ask yourself a few questions?

  1. How can I peacefully co-exist with myself?
  2. How can I balance my desire to help others with my obligation to care for myself?
  3. How can I make the most impact in the shortest amount of time?

Answering these questions will help you create an action plan to lead a more balanced life.

Prayer: Today I am thankful for a balanced life. I am thankful for opportunities to serve others and myself. I acknowledge quiet moments of reflection and I value the self-love and empowerment contained in those moments. Thank you for opportunities to release co-dependency and to embrace self-love. By doing this I will be of greater service to myself and others.

Much Love,

Melissa

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Allow Me to Re-Introduce Myself

My name is Melissa Rivers and I am a Peace Coach. My mission is to help entrepreneurs and individuals manage conflict, make brave choices and take action to achieve their goals. I’ve been in business for myself for nearly four years and I’ve successfully helped dozens of clients achieve their own personal measure of success.

Like many others, I’ve made some pretty lofty goals for 2019. The most important one for me is to do more of what I love.

I think after my divorce, cancer, job loss and a handful of other setbacks, my focus shifted from hope and expectation to survival. Survival is necessary but there has to be a healthy balance between obligation and enjoyment.

My obligation for 2019 is to show up for myself and to do the work for my clients. Enjoyment for me comes in the form of writing & blogging. There’s definitely more of that coming this year.

So, I will end this year with a declaration: I make room for intentional enjoyment in my life!

Here’s to a year filled with bold, confident and powerful prayers. Intentional declarations of progress, growth and opportunity. Resources to be a blessing to others and invitations that will set you in the presence of Kings and Queens. May your focus be consistent and intentional, may your actions be deliberate and kind, may your opportunities be often and abundant. May you find peace in all you search for and may you empower the good in yourself, others and life. Release anything that no longer serves you, add all things that give you positive vibes and love!

Much Love,

Melissa