Goals

The aim is to set a goal and achieve it.

Everyone either has a goal right now or will one day have a goal that they hope to achieve in the future. 

What I love about having a goal/several goals is that any goal is possible as long as you're determined to achieve it and work hard towards your goal/goals.

A goal is a goal, regardless of how big or small it is. The important thing about having a goal is your own personal belief that you can achieve it. As long as you believe that you can achieve, go for it and don't let anything or anyone hold you back. 

Try to not undermine yourself by being pessimistic about potential goals. Never discredit a potential goal because you think it's too big for you to achieve. No goal is impossible. When in doubt about a goal, I just remind myself that "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" Philippians 4:13.

Also try to not be easily influenced by other people as everyone is different. To do this, one must stay in their own lane and do what's best for them.

The best thing about your own goals are that your goals are yours, and yours only. Therefore, what others think of your goals isn't really that important. If you begin to focus on what others think, then you'll start to lose sight of your goal and that isn't good at all.

Be careful about who you share your goals with because not everyone wants the best for you or has the best intentions for you. Some may laugh at your goals and make you feel like you can't achieve it. These are the people that you need to stay away from because negative energy like that could potentially discourage you from wanting to reach your goals. However, there are some good people out there who practically cheer for you as you pursue your goal/goals. So before you share your goals with others make sure that you're sharing them with supportive and encouraging people.

“Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon.” -Paul Brandt

This post was inspired by my amazing best friend Afua.

The sun, the moon and the truth.

The following post was inspired by a saying by the Buddha ''three things cannot be long hidden; the sun the moon and the truth."
Indeed the truth, like the sun and the moon cannot be hidden for too long. Even when the sun and the moon  are covered by the clouds, it's only temporary and eventually you'll be able to see them again.
In terms of the truth, it will eventually come out and that's why I strongly believe that people should always tell the truth, especially in situations where the truth can make a huge impact.
It's better if you tell the truth immediately or as soon as possible instead of waiting for it to come out some months or years later because that might cause much more pain in comparison to if the truth was told straight away.
Yes, sometimes the truth may hurt but lies can be even more hurtful. That's why I always try to tell my loved ones the truth because I understand that the consequences of lying can be fatal at times.
Telling the truth can really set you free because at times lying can be rather long. Once you start lying you have to be able to remember your lies, keep them going and just hope that the truth doesn't come out. Whereas if the truth is told earlier on, life is made much more easier.
Lies can be heavy burdens that can  potentially hold you back and prevent the formation of relationships as all relationships are built on trust.

So just remember, honesty is the best policy.

Things to do when you're angry

As someone who gets easily annoyed and angry at the smallest things, finding ways to calm down have been very essential for myself. So I thought that it would be nice to compile a list of the things that I sometimes do to calm myself and share it.

1. Pray- for me, the best thing that I can do for myself when I'm angry is to pray. I often ask God to give me the strength that I need in order to overcome the anger and be at peace with myself once more. 
2. Read the Bible - there are plenty of Bible verses that deal with anger. For example: Ephesians 4:26-27 "In your anger do not sin; do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold" and Psalm 37:8 "Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret- it leads only to evil"
3. Breathe- it may sound silly but simply inhaling and exhaling can make a major difference to your mood.
4. Listen to some music - lately when I feel like I need to calm down, listening to Tink, Mariah Carey and Nico & Vinz has been really effective for me.
5. Sleep- although this won't make the problem go away, it will give you some time to be at peace with yourself.
6. Talk to someone - keeping all of your anger inside of you is no good, it could potentially make you even more angrier.Venting to a close family member or a trustworthy friend about your anger can help a lot.
7. Relax - find something relaxing to do for example writing or drawing as this is likely to distract you from your anger
8. Think - is the anger worth it? Do you really need to be so angry about the particular problem? Do you really need to use your time and energy on being angry or could your time and energy on better things? 

"Every day we have plenty of opportunities to get angry, stressed or offended. But what you're doing when you indulge these negative emotions is giving something outside yourself power over your happiness. You can choose to not let little things upset you." - Joel Osteen

''Letter to Philo'' by anonymous

I hope that everyone has had a blessed week. I just wanted to share this beautiful piece of writing that was submitted to me via email by someone who would like to remain anonymous. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did. Stay blessed.

"I always dream of moonlit nights with you. Dreams so pleasant they stain sheets.

I ache for you. My heart aches for you. A heart that had been taught to accommodate pain and solitude.
To forgive is to forget but how fast, how soon you forgot me I will not forgive but hope to forget.
Remembering half filled glasses of leftover wine with burned out candles facing each other is recalled with tears.
I reminisce about moments when you sat idle because I insisted you needed to relax.And as you sat I sat watchin you. Counting days, years, children, family scenes with funny stories. 
Drawing the curtains, I see again. In one sense it has been so short a time.
Was the choice really noble?To refuse a loving lady's advances. Admonitions. A choice that turns this story into a Shakespearean tragedy. A noble choice?
Through confused infatuation the snaky satan sneaked into our precious moments. To ruin Adamic man and put me into perpetual disgrace.
The love in Eden ended on a moonlit night and God didn't have to sack man. Eve left with her ripe apples and the snake.
Now man suffers because he did not succumb to the gratification of a natural need. Necessary to woman. Necessary to woo man.
In my defense that eve, "Let's wait for the Lord's day". A wedding day. For the word teaches us that eating the fruit led to man's first judgment day and now he suffers. A noble choice?
A long way I have come.Cascaded through thick and thin.Now on a lonely path singing a sorrowful parting song in silence.

I have now come to the point where I need to move on and go my separate way. Are your apples still ripe? Never mind.
Perhaps we will meet again. Perhaps......never, ever to meet again.

But someday should we meet............."

If you would like to submit anything to me, please feel free to email me: theghanaianqueen@gmail.com 

A relationship with God

This following post was requested by a friend of mine called Sinmi, who wanted me to talk about having a relationship with God.I'd like to start off by saying that I'm not here to tell you that you have to have a relationship with God as I'm not an expert, but establishing a good relationship with God makes this difficult thing called life so much easier. Whether you choose to have a relationship with God is up to you and no one else. The beautiful thing about having a relationship with God is that it's a personal relationship that's between you and God only, no one else. God is the only person that you can truly ever trust and he will always have your back, no matter what. Even when the whole world seems to be against you, God will be there for you. If you don't have a relationship with God at this very moment in time, don't worry because he still has a relationship with you and he loves you regardless of how strong your current relationship with him is. 
How I see it, your relationship with God can take whatever form you want. There are no rules about how you should go about when building your relationship with God. If you feel like fasting, going to church, praying, reading the Bible etc is what you need in order to build a stable and intimate relationship with God then so be it. Do what floats your boat and makes you comfortable. No one has the right to judge how you go about in building a relationship with God.
My relationship with God has helped me a lot through the past couple of months. Exam season can be tough, but with the relationship that I had with God I was able to feel less stressed and I feel like I was able to overcome the difficulties. 
People are often quick to abandon God as soon as the hard times are over, for example as soon as exams are finished. However, this needs to be an ongoing thing. God is not a part time God, he's a full time God so a relationship with God should not be a part time thing but a full time thing.
Just remember: when times are good, pray. When times are bad, pray. When you're up, pray. When you're down, pray. Don't just communicate with God when times are difficult and rough, but communicate with God when times are good also.

As aforementioned, this post was requested by friend and if you have any requests feel free to contact me theghanaianqueen@gmail.com.