Tag: Rachael Melot

Rock What You Got!

Posted on by Rachael Melot in business, successwithoutapology, Well Being

Rock What You Got - Blog Branding

My girlfriends and I took a road trip to Kansas City over the Labor Day Weekend for some R&R and to spend time with my family.  Late Saturday night, we were sprawled out on the bed and floor, talking, reading, and looking up new recipes.  I had found a box of papers from my childhood and was curiously reconnecting with my younger self.  I discovered various journal entries that expressed my love for pizza, sheet music and lyrics that warned of acid rain and global warming, and a remixed poem of people at a mall working together to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.  My favorite was a letter than we were asked to write in the 4th grade (I think) to our parents regarding what they could expect when they attended parent-teacher conferences the next day.

So, what was my take away from all of this?

Sometimes, life feels very big to me.  I can get overloaded with information and overwhelmed with decisions about who I am supposed to be or what I am supposed to do at any given moment.  These readings reminded me that I have cared about certain things and operated in certain ways for my entire life.  These are the characteristics that make me…me.  Of course, I want to stay open-minded to how other people experience this life.  However, I have the tendency to lose myself in the land of infinite possibilities (podcasts, Pinterest, social media, recommended readings, etc.)  At the end of the day, I have to connect with and contend with the passions, quirks, ideas, expressions, obstacles, family systems, geographical settings, and culture that I embody.  My experiences are no more important nor insignificant when compared to my fellow human.

As my friend Aja Owens proclaims so wholeheartedly, it is our right and responsibility on this earth to, “Rock What You Got!”

Take time this week to think about the characteristics that make you – you! u.

Write down 30 facts about yourself and see what surfaces. 

Ask friends to describe you in one word. I wonder what sticks out to others that you are not giving yourself credit for.  It is easy to dismiss the attributes that come most naturally because we don’t have to work for them.  We have trouble recognizing our strengths because they come easy to us and we just assume they come easy to others as well…and therefore are not deserving of a pat on the back.

Wouldn’t it be wild if we took a month off of self-improvement and spent that time just noticing how freaking unbelievable we already are?!?

Ya’ll are amazing and are positive forces for good in this world.  Even on your worst day, we all benefit from your presence.

 

Bio picAlicja Carter, MHR, LADC, BHWC, has been working in the behavioral health and addiction treatment field for over ten years.  She is a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor and Wellness Coordinator/Coach for Gateway to Prevention and Recovery in Shawnee, Oklahoma.  Alicja is passionate about pursuing a well life and collaborating with others for the purpose of stimulating positive change in her community.

 

She Has a Really Big….

Posted on by Rachael Melot in business

Rolodex.  Of course.  A rolodex.  For those of you under the age of 30 you may not even know what a rolodex is, but way back in the time of paper we had these things that sat on our desks called a rolodex.  The rolodex was a desktop card index used to record names, addresses, and telephone numbers, (or business cards) in a rotating spindle or a small tray to which removable cards are attached.

 

Nowadays we call them phones.  🙂 . But in a recent retreat I participated we were asked to describe our self with one word and the first letter of that word had to be the first letter of our name.  So going with “R” I used the word relational.  I believe that I am a relational personal who builds long-lasting relationships.  I value my relationships with friends, business acquaintances and family a great deal.

I confess I am not the quickest to build the relationship.  I think I have mentioned before that I don’t make very good small talk.   But if we get past the small talk in our conversation then I dig in – I really get to know you.  I have known this about myself and I have a few close friends who know this about me, but honestly when the Mayor of our City described me to a consultant as having a really big rolodex, I was kind of shocked.

Should I be shocked that he thought of me as having a big rolodex? I guess I kind of thought that was my little secret.  Isn’t that kind of weird that I felt exposed and kind of “found out” when I was described as having a big rolodex.  You know, I know people.  haha

After weirding out about it just a little, I have come to take great pride in my rolodex.  I believe the people in my rolodex (or phone) are one of my greatest prized possessions.  I know people.  I know people who know people and everyday I love expanding my network of people.

John Maxwell once said in a training session that he always asks his new friends or acquaintances, “Who do you know that I should know?”  Maybe that is because he too values his rolodex.  He values the people he knows.  I believe I am in company with the likes of someone like Maxwell who is always focused on building his rolodex to grow and develop as a human, a leader, and a mentor.

#GoGrowYourRolodex

Practice Forgiveness for Happiness

Posted on by Rachael Melot in business

There are so many books right now being published about happiness. While on the surface this may seem like a good topic and good for us all to be consuming, I believe it is one more indicator of tumultuous and hurting society.  We, as a collective unit, are desperately seeking anything to calm the storm that lives with us right now.  We are consuming the drugs of hate, bitterness, anger, and anxiety to a point of detrimental personal health and well-being.  We have a President who name calls like a teenage bully, news stations fueled with hate and division, and teenagers turning to gun violence and retaliation rather than professional help or friends.

I am so saddened by our unfulfilled hearts.  I am heavy hearted that we have so many people who are in desperate desire to understand what could/would make them happy.  I genuinely hurt when others cannot find happiness in their life.  I have seen the darkest of days where happiness seemed afar and true inner joy was a goal, yet overall, I am a happy person.

I recently listed to Oprah Winfrey and Maria Shriver on Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations podcast and listened to Marie talk about her newest book, I’ve Been Thinking.  Maria spent a few minutes answering a question Oprah asked about what she teaches her children.  She spoke of the values and then she caught my attention when she began to expand upon forgiveness.  She tells her children they must practice forgiveness and work to be good at it.

As I heard her say that, my mind trailed off to write this blog because it struck me.  It really resonated with me that forgiveness and a forgiving heart is truly a key to happiness.  I think of the times I have been in the very darkest of days where happiness eluded me. I see now that I was in a place where I was being unforgiving.  For example, after my marriage ended I was in pursuit of my true joy and happiness, but it wasn’t until I fully forgave my ex- husband that I felt my personal happiness again.

As I mentioned earlier, you can read a dozen books about happiness if you would like.  You can find literature about the happiest people in the world, but can you forgive? Practicing forgiveness may be one of the best tactics to finding happiness.  Speaking of forgiveness, have you forgiven yourself for being slightly overweight or too bossy or a stay-at-home or a workaholic?  Have you forgiven your sibling for how they spoke to you or reacted to a situation?  Have you forgiven your friend for speaking ill behind your back against you?

How does forgiveness impact your personal happiness? If you are withholding forgiveness you are putting speedbumps on your road to happiness. If you can not forgive yourself or others, you prevent happiness from full development.  You may think it is easy for me to say because you think I don’t have people to forgive.

I have forgiven myself for all the wrong, inexperienced things I did as a youth director when I was trying to start a praise service.  I handled so many situations incorrectly and it took many years to forgive myself for them.  I forgave my ex-husband for his affairs and disrespect. I forgave the girl who used to bully me in school. I hold no grudge against my cousin who really screwed me in a business deal. I will forgive the person getting off this plane in an hour when she shows no curtesy or respect (trust me this takes a special kind of forgiveness, ha). I choose forgiveness, and I practice it daily.

The world gives us many avenues for anger, hate, bitterness, and unhappiness. What if we armed young people with the practice of forgiveness?  Could we prevent some of the actions they take to get revenge or to make people pay?  Each day we, as adults, are given opportunities to forgive.  We can practice forgiveness, model forgiving behaviors to young people and encourage forgiveness in others.  If you practice forgiveness, you can impact your happiness.  I say this, not as a happiness expert, but as a happy person.

Take some time to reflect and give me feedback if you would like.  If given the opportunity to forgive someone today, would you take it?

WWOD

Posted on by Rachael Melot in business

Anyone remember the wrist bands that us young Christians were wearing in junior high that simply said WWJD? Well today I ask you, WWOD? And not to compare the two religiously at all, but lets be honest we always want to know, “What Would Oprah Do?”

Well I came across a great article this morning about what Oprah did when she found out her male co-worker was making more money even though they were doing the same job. The story is not much different than the one I reference often about Mika Brzezinski on the Morning Joe show.

I believe this is an important article because it goes through two stories for Oprah.  The first demonstrates how she stood up for herself and the second shows how she stood up for other women.  So today I challenge women – stand up for yourself AND stand up for other women. The statistics need to change – we have so far yet to go for equality.  See below an excerpt from the aforementioned article.

While gender equality today has made great strides, women in the workforce are still underrepresented in leadership roles. For example, there are only 24 women helming Fortune 500 companies as CEOs. And in the aggregate, they are paid less than men. Women working full time in the U.S. in 2016 earned $0.80 for every dollar earned by a man, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy and Research (IWPR) and the American University of American Women.

#NotGoodEnough  #KeepAsking4More #SuccessWithoutApology