Equipping young women professionals with young families to find fulfillment, contentment and joy as mothers and home makers without losing sight of who they are as women.

Volume 01, Issue 44: The Balance Sheet of Life Part II

Health is largely a product of lifestyle. Other than non-modifiable factors of genes, inborn defects, age, and sex, health is determined by diet, exercise, rest, social, and emotional environment. Genes may load the trigger, but it is lifestyle that pulls it. For some of us, as we pursue our dreams, attention to our health takes a back seat. You are doing your future a disservice by lacking the discipline to eat healthy, keep fit, and rest.

Diet: Many times we eat improperly because we fail to plan ahead and we find ourselves hungry in the office or out there, and go for the most convenient and readily available options, which usually turn out to be processed foods. Diet is a very personal choice. As you make choices of what to eat throughout the day, keep in mind that what you eat, and how much you eat has a lasting effect on your health.

What you feed your body determines its useful life. Take care of your body and it will work for you for a very long time. Given the way our bodies are rebelling against us lately, maybe it’s about time we made eating a healthy diet a lifetime goal. Though we have desires, they should not rule over us. We can exercise self-control in this area.

Exercise: The reality of life is, as most of us grow older, our metabolism will need us to partner with it to keep it going. I am not talking about going to the extreme of being overly obsessed with exercise, but doing something. See what works best for you, what you will be consistent with and go for it. Don’t be overambitious and embark on something you will not be able to maintain. It is what you do consistency that counts for favourable results.

Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired with how you look and feel? That is all you need to make the necessary changes for your well being. As you begin, have your priorities in the right place. The ultimate goal for eating properly and working out is not to be tiny, but to become and stay healthy. You will also reap additional benefits of feeling good and up to peak performance, being strong and fit, and last but not least, looking good.

Over performing: Constantly being on the go adds up to high stress levels that cause the body to rebel against us. Most health problems are now being associated not just to diet but our heightened stress levels. Our bodies are pleading with us to slow down, yet many are guilty of ignoring the warning signs. Well, if you don’t listen to your body, it will still have the last say. Be wise. Find ways to slow down your life. Take a moment and enjoy doing absolutely nothing every now and then.

Learn to say no to the constant invitations and activities that all sound good. Make discerning choices about what you say yes to and consider the long-term effects on your well being. Get real about how much you are really capable of. Stop the madness of over-extending yourself. Know your physical limitations and take the time to rest.

Rest: We allow ourselves little rest especially when it comes to pursuit of professional goals. Yet at the end of the chase, our professional success will be hollow without the health and key relationships to enjoy it.

Many of us say we can’t afford to take so much time away from our duties, real or imagined. The truth of the matter is we can’t afford not to rest. Resting releases tension and toxins from the body that can poison the system. God took time to rest. Shouldn’t we follow his example and call all activity to a halt and rest? Find out what promotes rest and relaxation for you and make sure to indulge in it to restore your body.

Emotional rest is just as vital to your well being. Unload any emotional baggage from toxic and unhealthy relationships. Set healthy boundaries to protect your heart from unnecessary drama.

Mentally, learn how to disconnect from your work once you leave it, or any stresses that burden your mind for way too long. Find a way to hit the off button in your mind and refuse to over-think issues. Stop and take time to think about absolutely nothing.

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 01, Issue 44: The Balance Sheet of Life Part II

Health is largely a product of lifestyle. Other than non-modifiable factors of genes, inborn defects, age, and sex, health is determined by diet, exercise, rest, social, and emotional environment. Genes may load the trigger, but it is lifestyle that pulls it. For some of us, as we pursue our dreams, attention to our health takes a back seat. You are doing your future a disservice by lacking the discipline to eat healthy, keep fit, and rest.

Diet: Many times we eat improperly because we fail to plan ahead and we find ourselves hungry in the office or out there, and go for the most convenient and readily available options, which usually turn out to be processed foods. Diet is a very personal choice. As you make choices of what to eat throughout the day, keep in mind that what you eat, and how much you eat has a lasting effect on your health.

What you feed your body determines its useful life. Take care of your body and it will work for you for a very long time. Given the way our bodies are rebelling against us lately, maybe it’s about time we made eating a healthy diet a lifetime goal. Though we have desires, they should not rule over us. We can exercise self-control in this area.

Exercise: The reality of life is, as most of us grow older, our metabolism will need us to partner with it to keep it going. I am not talking about going to the extreme of being overly obsessed with exercise, but doing something. See what works best for you, what you will be consistent with and go for it. Don’t be overambitious and embark on something you will not be able to maintain. It is what you do consistency that counts for favourable results.

Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired with how you look and feel? That is all you need to make the necessary changes for your well being. As you begin, have your priorities in the right place. The ultimate goal for eating properly and working out is not to be tiny, but to become and stay healthy. You will also reap additional benefits of feeling good and up to peak performance, being strong and fit, and last but not least, looking good.

Over performing: Constantly being on the go adds up to high stress levels that cause the body to rebel against us. Most health problems are now being associated not just to diet but our heightened stress levels. Our bodies are pleading with us to slow down, yet many are guilty of ignoring the warning signs. Well, if you don’t listen to your body, it will still have the last say. Be wise. Find ways to slow down your life. Take a moment and enjoy doing absolutely nothing every now and then.

Learn to say no to the constant invitations and activities that all sound good. Make discerning choices about what you say yes to and consider the long-term effects on your well being. Get real about how much you are really capable of. Stop the madness of over-extending yourself. Know your physical limitations and take the time to rest.

Rest: We allow ourselves little rest especially when it comes to pursuit of professional goals. Yet at the end of the chase, our professional success will be hollow without the health and key relationships to enjoy it.

Many of us say we can’t afford to take so much time away from our duties, real or imagined. The truth of the matter is we can’t afford not to rest. Resting releases tension and toxins from the body that can poison the system. God took time to rest. Shouldn’t we follow his example and call all activity to a halt and rest? Find out what promotes rest and relaxation for you and make sure to indulge in it to restore your body.

Emotional rest is just as vital to your well being. Unload any emotional baggage from toxic and unhealthy relationships. Set healthy boundaries to protect your heart from unnecessary drama.

Mentally, learn how to disconnect from your work once you leave it, or any stresses that burden your mind for way too long. Find a way to hit the off button in your mind and refuse to over-think issues. Stop and take time to think about absolutely nothing.

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 01, Issue 43: The Balance Sheet of Life Part I

Why does finding balance in life elude so many of us? Some of our great heroes missed the point and we are the wiser if we learn from their oversight. They contributed greatly to humanity but left other important parts of their lives lacking. Sacrificing health, family, relationships and time for themselves, they followed their passions beyond the tipping point and lost their balance. This brings to mind the need of acquiring practical balance as we pursue our dreams.

Many of us are leading skewed lives, over emphasizing on some areas, while neglecting others. It is often times deemed acceptable to compromise on family or personal attention if one is doing exceptionally well in career and business. Rising stars in the fast track of achievement are assumed incapable of keeping a thriving marriage, or being faithful to their spouses and being actively involved in the lives of their children.

A friend once asked Theodore Roosevelt why he did not take a more active role in supervising his free-spirited daughter, Alice. Roosevelt purportedly replied; "I can be the President of the United States or I can attend to Alice. I cannot do both."

Many homes in our society today are continually having to do without the attention of a husband and a father. Marriages and families have become acceptable casualties of pursuits for success. Lost in the rat race, we go about life trying to squeeze in key relationships, such as spouse and children. In a time when infidelity and divorce rates are skyrocketing, I think the truly great must have a high degree of family stability.

Relationships give meaning to life. Achievers have to overcome the enormous challenge of investing their lives in causes larger than they are and simultaneously fulfilling their responsibilities as spouses and parents. Echoing the words of Anthony Gitonga in Made for Greatness, is the old style of value-laded success a thing of the past? Is the wholesome picture of the American first family, Sasha, Malia, Michelle, and Obama, a family that appears to model all rounded greatness, an isolated example meant for another time and another place? Absolutely not! It’s a choice that we are all capable of making.

With a keen attention to prioritizing matters that are meaningful to our lives, we need to master the ability to oscillate between two extremes. Our commitment to build careers and serve humanity should draw from the foundation of thriving family relationships. A President should be able to walk from commanding a whole nation to cuddling a child whose greatest need is to spend time with its parent.

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 01, Issue 42: Service and Fulfillment Go Hand-in-Hand

When we discover what we do well in life, our passions, our gifts, and our strengths; we begin to serve those strengths to others, many times without compensation. It brings us meaning and we enjoy it.

Many people belong to the school of thought that service has to be a sacrifice; that you don’t have to love or enjoy what you do, just get it done. I believe there is a place for sacrificing for others, but we cannot sustain service that does not align with our self-interest.

We serve best in the area that brings us the most joy and satisfaction. Anything else is like a jail sentence of advancing a course that only pleases someone else. Service fulfils when we match our strengths to the place of service.

At our local Churches, we are often called upon to join various ministries and we feel pressured to join any, regardless of whether we are suited for the service involved. God has indeed called each of us to serve. But he did not give us specific gifts just so we could ignore them and do whatever is thrown at us. We should discover our gifts and give our best service in the area that we are best suited.

So many people hate their jobs. Wherever you turn, you will find people seeking fulfillment in life by doing what they loathe. However, work and service do not have to be dreadful chores that we have to endure. If only we aligned our strengths and passions with our preoccupations. We can choose to pursue careers that are in line with our interests and gifting.

Work and fun do not have to be mutually exclusive. We can blur the dividing line of work and pleasure by looking for opportunities to do what we do best every day. We can find pleasure in service. This is only possible if we serve in our area of passion and strength.

Meet a need by serving where you are strongest. There are plenty of opportunities for us to be of great service in the area of our gifting. After all, your greatest contribution in life comes from your strength zone.

I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun. Thomas Edison

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 01, Issue 41: Bring Something to the Party

We know that it is ill manners to go visiting empty handed even though we are not always polite enough to do the proper thing. We often go bearing gifts as simple as grocery shopping when we visit with family and friends. But when we go to someone we need help from, most of us go empty handed.

When you approach someone in a position to advance your standing in life such as a mentor, it should not be just about what they can do for you. It is prudent to be mindful of what you can give to them. Everyone has something to give. Your gift need not be much; for it is not the magnitude, but the thought that counts. Keep in mind that gifts come in all forms; it could be an item or a service; whatever is relevant to your beneficiary.

Offering a gift when you are seeking one is not bribery. We live in a society of "toa kitu kidogo" and we may judge this as giving a bribe in exchange for what we need. The difference here is that the purpose of your gift is not to compromise the standards of the recipient, but to express a genuine appreciation for the value they will add to your life. More importantly, it shows that you are not just looking for a handout, but rather you are willing to exchange resources.

When her Majesty the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon to learn from his vast wisdom, she went with full hands. She went bearing gifts of gold, spices and precious stones, and gave them extravagantly. The Bible records that never again were so many spices brought in as those the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. And in return she got so much more than she expected. The Bible records that King Solomon gave her all she desired and asked for, in addition to what he had given her out of his royal bounty.

Purpose to not approach anyone empty handed. Go with full hands. Have something to bring to the party. Provide a gift even when you are seeking one. Always seek to enrich the lives of others as they enrich yours.

Lillian Chebosi