Life isn’t a bed of roses. Everyone has their share of the milk and honey, and the hard rocks that life has to offer. And as emotional beings, we sometimes let the hard rocks weigh us down.

Don't mistake me for a preacher, I am not. Then who am I? you may wonder. My name is Gift Chukwuma, and I strongly believe that life is not a roller coaster. Life is full of ups and downs. In our down moments when life becomes so vague and empty, all we need is some form of inspiration embodied in words.

As young as I want to believe I am (I am a baby girl for life by the way *winks), I’ve been at points in my life when my existence meant almost nothing to me. I felt empty.

Stressed. Negative thoughts plagued and overshadowed my mind.

Relatable, yeah?

But guess what? It’s all a mind game!

I broke out of this mental slavery by constantly feeding my mind with mentally enriched resources. Resources which provided me with a burst of wisdom and hope to get my focus back (books, listening to audios, focus on the positives part of life especially on social media, connect myself with friends who see the good in me and things around them despite the negativity all around us etc.).

Going through this phase, I have come to realize that reassurance strengthens belief. And once your believe is solid, your stream of joy can never dry. I’ve put together 5 powerful inspirational quotes that have greatly influenced my life positively, and what they each mean to me.

I am willing to share. And, if you are reading this piece I wrote straight from my heart up to this very moment, I am convinced beyond doubt that you are passionate about living beyond the doubts of life. Without wasting your precious time, let us dive into the pool of wisdom. 

1. You are confined by the walls you build yourself.

Reading a book is great. But when you read a book with a wrong mindset, you might end up doing yourself a lot of harm than good. 

There was a time in my life when I read a book on how to analyze people and in the process, I started analyzing myself. Apparently, I was reading this book with the wrong mindset. I became so focused on my weaknesses and therefore limiting myself, unconsciously. 

After talking with a friend, I realized that I had created mental shackles for myself by myself.
Your mindset is everything. You win and lose first in your mind before you win or lose in reality. Assuredly, you will fail if you tell yourself so. And you will succeed if you tell yourself so.
So take a lesson from this quote and motivate yourself to mental freedom.

2. You are stronger than you think.

We've talked about mindset and how important it is. Your mind is your pot of gold, protect it with all the weapon you have in your arsenal.
We live in a society where mediocrity is normal. And these mediocre people tend to know how to talk a potential back into its shell. 
Run from them!

This quote has taught me to stand my ground in knowing that I’m stronger than those negative influences, and I am meant for greater things. And, I have learn to protect my mind (my precious pot of gold) with everything I have. One of my weapon of protection is my long sexy legs. Yes! I have and flaunt it because it is a blessing *winks*

Running from the negative vibes sometimes is your best weapon. Use it! You have the choice of staying and listening to people who constantly talk you down, making you lose your believe and self confidence, or you can just stay away, run.

My advice to you: rise higher than your surroundings and achieve greatness no matter what people may tell you.

3. Don’t give up; even a broken crayon still has its colour.

Have you ever been eating life’s milk and honey and suddenly you choke on a hard rock? And felt like your world crumbled into pieces? Well, me too.

I used to think that rejections, breakups, disappointments, and not getting an expected grade at school would keep me from living my best life until I realized that, in spite of all the setbacks, I am still me! Ambitious, energetic, full of purpose and value.

Haven’t you seen darkest memories turn into stories that inspire others? 
the challenges you encounter can’t stop you from your destiny—don’t let it! 
Just imagine 5 years from now if you don’t give in.

4. Don’t stop when you are tired, stop when you are done.

This quote practically taught me hard work and determination. During the 6 months total lockdown, I did more eating and sleeping (my goodness I ate anything edible I could lay my hands on, hehe) which led me to gain so much weight. The lockdown was eased and I was able to move back to Lagos from Ogun State. I decided to get involved in physical activities that would help me shed some weight. I set my body goal and started working out (and dancing too).

Oh boy! In just the first week, my body and soul was exhausted. "Abeg na weight I add, I no kill anybody". I was tempted to give up and assume that all the hard work to lose weight wasn’t necessary. After all, I still look good and I’ve been getting more compliments about my body.

But somewhere deep in my heart, I wanted to burn those calories and hit my set body goal. I was determined. I promised myself not to rest until I achieve my goal.

Guess what? That exhausting task is now one of my most enjoyable hobbies.
Struggles and trials in your life make you feel exhausted. I get it. Make you feel that your efforts are fruitless, tempt you to quit the process. Now, promise yourself not to rest until you celebrate your victory!
5. Focus on being, and not having.

This specifically speaks to young potentials—like me—working hard to make a name. The way I see it, many young talents don’t have the patience for growth anymore. We’ve rather decided to conform to the rules of society to strive for prestigious titles, high pay job, expensive house, car and gadgets. The height of impatience I see these days in young to learn is sickening.

This is not the way to gain status and progress. 
There is a process for attaining the best things in life and it’s called GROWTH.
We should move away from the deterrents and create a life that would make us proud when we look back at it.

I hope you learnt a thing or two from this piece. Thank you so much for reading. Don’t forget to leave a comment below. And spread the gospel too (winks).