BY: ALYSSA MAHADEO
It’s the end of another year; goals accomplished or not, time has passed without fail and now as we look toward next year one question always remains the same. How will the next one be different? Should we be allowed this much time to make a decision? When will we discover our purpose and unlock our true potential?
On Sunday, December 10th, a party of women gathered together to allow positive energy to flow into their space by discussing opportunities for growth, self-development and introspection in the new year.
It was an intimate and revealing event filled with reflection, women empowerment and broadening the fields of vision into the future. At the end of every year, we personally take some time to look back on our accomplishments, and what we’ve achieved to determine how we can set the pace of prospective events. Each of us goes about this is in a different manner, and while our goals might be different, our intentions are the same, how can I resolve to be better next year?
Envision 2018 was a self-love workshop hosted by Kym Niles founder of I Can & I Will, an organization focused on empowering people to take positive action. They excel at positive energy movement that encourages results for a higher self-esteem, mind-body mastery, and nurturing core values with an emphasis on fundamentals essential for success.
“I wanted to bring us together today to not only network with each other, but to really understand ourselves.” Kym began, opening the workshop and set the tone for the day.
“It’s something where I feel at times we come up short,” Kym explained. “We put ourselves behind and we put everything else in front of us.”
Speaking truth into the room was a recurring theme throughout the day and the ladies were encouraged to share their thoughts and ask questions in a judgment-free, safe space.
At the beginning of the workshop, all of the ladies were given three questions to consider and share later in the day. “What are you most proud of this year, what is an area of opportunity that stood out, and what must you accomplish in 2018?”
Too often we spend time dwelling on our problems and issues unsure of how to solve them, and throughout the workshop, Kym encouraged the ladies to consider these ‘issues and problems’ as ‘opportunities’ for positive reflection and action.
Keeping in line with the theme of the day the ladies were able to hear a special presentation on ‘awakening your natural self,’ from Nicole Reid founder of Diva Creations Hair and Skin Care. In creating her own natural hair and skin care line, Nicole has dedicated a lot of time and effort into discovering why taking care of our skin is important, and how we can better utilize natural products to feed and nourish our hair and body by diminishing the use of harsh chemicals.
“We live in darkness,” Nicole shared, “Our bodies need the sun, and living in the city we don’t always get the things we need naturally derived from sunlight.” Nicole offered great insights into why we might experience breakouts, dark marks, and other skin irritations as well as natural handmade solutions and on the spot consultations. “It’s all about putting sun back into your body,” she explained.
All of the ladies were invited to indulge in a healthy lunch, and mimosa cocktails or partake in some Christmas shopping opportunities from the vendors Diva Creations Hair and Skin Care line and Zee’s Closet unique African print accessories. After lunch, it was straight into the main presentation of the program. Envision 2018 presented by Kym Niles and focused on breaking limitations, embarking on a journey of introspection and addressing the changes you want to make in your life.
“If today was your last day would you love the way you lived?” it’s sometimes tough to make those hard decisions, but can you live with the regret of never having made them at all?
The workshop encouraged the women in the room to ask themselves the hard questions, to face their concerns and fears filled with nuggets of wisdom to fuel your mind body and soul. The ladies were encouraged to network with each other, and be honest with one another.
The female relationship is sometimes a hard plane to navigate. Amongst women, there are heightened emotions, a lot more judgment, and competition and sometimes it’s difficult to express ourselves to one another.
“It’s all about being unconventional,” Kym shared. “If you know who you are you know who you’re not, what it comes down to is how you will make your mark.”
To wrap up the workshop and highlight what was gathered from the event everyone was encouraged to create their own vision board to speak into their universe their goals for 2018. The vision board asked for goals in health and fitness, love, relationships, family, children, wealth, career and travel for the coming year.
Overall the day was an adventure, embarking on a journey of introspection, to prompt the women to discover their purpose. Many were faced with realizations, and harsh realities but it wasn’t about tearing people down, but encouraging them to build themselves back up, learn from any mistakes, heal themselves and work hard to achieve success in 2018.
“We can’t judge ourselves by our disappointments,” Kym surmised. “We are born looking like our parents, we die looking like our decisions, it’s up to you to choose your own path.”
