The Basics Of Bossing Up!

Bossing Up is very humbling. Humbling because we have to take full responsibility for our actions. In ‘The Basics of Bossing Up,’ I will be putting you on to some tips and tricks that I have been practicing since last year in order to take my life to the next level. That is the definition of bossing up. These habits have allowed me to see and experience a tremendous change in my life for the better. Singer and songwriter, Ciara would be proud because I have definitely leveled up a lot. Bossing Up is a mentality. It’s not something that you can study. You acquire these life skills over time and they often come as a result of lots of life experience. Sometimes painful. Bossing Up requires ACTION!

‘Remain positive throughout life’s curve balls.’ Positivity is key to experiencing any sort of elevation in life. Remaining positive allows us to act day after day, trial after trial and victory after victory. Excellence is a habit. After a period of time, if you continue putting excellence first, Bossing Up is inevitable. It will become habitual in your everyday life, walk and talk. Your journey will also start to affect other people around you for the greater good!

‘Be the change that you want to see in the world.’ Being true to yourself and your journey are vitally important to becoming a great leader. ‘The past is heavy, put it down.’ Letting go of the past is also very important. Letting go of the past is not always the easiest thing to do in life. You have to allow yourself grace and must be patient with yourself. Forgive yourself and others. When I was trying to let go of past hurts, I prayed without ceasing for God to remove the weight of grief. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says, ‘…there is a time for everything, even grief.’ Humans are meant to evolve. We aren’t meant to stay in the same phases of life forever. We have to grow and change, through the good and the not so good!

Take care of of your body and mental health. Taking care of your body is biblical. ‘Our bodies are temples.’ 1 Corinthians 6:19. Becoming a great leader will require you to show up whether you are feeling like it or not. It’s imperative that in order to perform in any leadership role, one must be mentally available for a lot of other people. Bossing Up always requires the leader to put others first. 

I work out for my mental health first. It keeps my mind sharp, all while taking care of my physical wants, needs and goals!

Last but certainly not least in my tips on Bossing Up in life is learning how to speak up and ask for what you want. It’s important to get into the habit of being honest with yourself and it’s especially important in any leadership role. Bossing Up requires you to be bold. Speak what you want into existence. Closed mouths do not get fed!

Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself! (In my Jay Z voice)

I’ve actually never done a social media intro! I don’t know why it took so long. To my new friends..

I’m Knetris (pronounced Kuh-Née-Tris, like Tetris) My close friends call me K. and I call myself a child of God🧸 I was born in rural Virginia and was raised there too. (VA stand uuuppp) My first ever job was babysitting my neighbors kids so teaching is definetly part of my calling. I attended UVA (GO HOOS) and studied English Language and Literature. I have always been a big writer and a sports fanatic. After interviewing at ESPN a day after graduating from college and not getting the job, I began a career in education. On and off, it has lasted over 16 years!

Over the past two years, I have started investing in my overall health more. Health is Wealth is my LIFELONG mantra. It’s SO important to take care of yourself. I started running again. Instead of craving dark chocolate with almonds, I find myself reaching for a hearty bag of trail mix and guys, that is huge for me. I’ve lost about 60 pounds since 2016. There is no time limit to taking care of yourself. It is in fact a lifelong lifestyle change. I love being fit.

I just want you to know that I’m that woman, friend, sister, daughter, girlfriend who WILL check in all the time! We could’ve just spoken on the phone and I’ll call back 10 minutes later asking if you are good. It’s just how God designed me. I’m truly in love with life! In love with improving, getting better, being a good steward over all that God has blessed me with. Totally elated to have real PEACE in my life! When you visit my page, I want you to leave better, stronger, more loving. KIND! Ready for the world! It’s nice to meet you! Let’s GO!

No. 27 ‘Prepared!’

Walking Into 2022 more prepared than EVER!

26 is the number of times I have spilled my heart out to you guys about my setbacks, struggles, and victories for 2021. Today makes number 27. It’s my 27th blog entry! It is inevitable that after setbacks and struggles come victory and triumph. God set it up this way for a reason. Ironically enough, today will be my 27th and final blog post for the year. And I am walking into 2022 more prepared than EVER!

Going forward, every new year I will pick a word that sums up my goals and intentions for the year. I’m getting started a few weeks before we move into 2022 with the word ‘Prepared!! Instead of setting a bunch of resolutions that I know I cannot keep, I listen for God to speak into my life. I choose ‘Prepared’ because there were many life changing lessons in 2021. Changes that brought an opportunity to be fearful but I chose to be faithful through it all. There is always a CHOICE. Always. Everyone of us has a choice. Most of the time, getting prepared means making a difficult choice. Difficult in the sense of going down the road less travelled. For me, prepared means surviving circumstances that were completely in my control. Surviving the waiting seasons in 2021 and there were many. What I am trying to get across to you is that I’m prepared because I chose to let go and let God trial after trial in this year. I’m still learning to let go daily.  My perseverance has been tested on levels I never dreamed I would go. 

I opened my blog, ‘Knetris The Word Nerd’ up in 2021. I survived COVID 19. I turned 40 years old. I was hired to write for a major women’s lifestyle magazine. I will probably resurrect my teaching career and get back into the classroom in 2022. God prepared me in ways I never thought possible in 2021. God is also for YOU! Absolutely. 100% He loves us in such a way that the human mind cannot even comprehend. Everything he does is out of love. It’s always for a greater and better you. All the things I went through in 2021 will be used as fuel to ignite the fire for ushering in this brand new season. Those hurdles created a more compassionate, more joyful, more graceful Knetris. Now, I can truly decipher what is really important. You are not regressing. You are growing and getting prepared. God is taking you higher. Just trust him❤️

I hope you have a Beautiful week leading up to Christmas and a very safe AND happy New Year! I love you and there is nothing you can do about it!

Remember To Breathe!

How To Survive The Holidays During A Pandemic!

Grammy award winning singer, Lalah Hathaway’s song, ‘Breathe’ has become a beacon of light for me since I first heard it. In 2011, I was on a Christmas vacation in Kansas City, Missouri with my family. At that time, my brother, Thomas was playing his final season in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs. We were on our way to the mall to Christmas shop and I just wasn’t quite feeling like myself. He put that song on and it was an instant mood booster. At that time in my life, I was carrying some unresolved grief and may have been suffering with slight seasonal depression. Now, whether I’m not feeling quite as confident or if I’m on cloud 9, ‘Breathe’ is my anthem. We MUST remember to breathe.

I think at times it’s hard to truly understand the trauma we have all endured since Covid came to America. We have been so totally knocked out of our routine. It is important to stay on a routine during this holiday season. I exercise as soon as I wake up in the morning. I shower and then have a light breakfast. I do this everyday. This routine helps my mental and physical health because I know its going to give me long term benefits. I also have noticed an extreme difference in my confidence level. It’s through the roof. I have increased energy, which shows up at work all day. 

If you are struggling with mental health concerns, be sure to ask for help during this holiday season. The use of alcohol usually rises during the holidays. Reach out to a sponsor or family and friends if you find yourself struggling with alcohol and drugs. This time last year, 47 million people reported mental health issues due to the death of loved ones, financial strain, not being able to buy gifts for kids, as well as foreclosures and evictions! Organizations and non profits are available to help buy kids toys for Christmas this year. 

A tip that I’ve found to be so necessary is to avoid social isolation during the holiday season. I have a large family but we also have cell phones for a reason. I have a weekly virtual meeting with my sister and her two kids and husband every Sunday after church. Since I haven’t been able to visit them in Florida since they were born due to the pandemic, I look forward to seeing them and watching them grow. 

Keep your holiday small. Plan a small family gathering like brunch or dinner for the holidays for family that has been vaccinated. At the moment, it’s imperative for you to be COVID tested if you are going to be around individuals who have not had the vaccine. You can still get COVID if you have been vaccinated. I have been laying low during this holiday season because I tested positive for COVID in January of this year! I have not had any symptoms since then. When I visit with family and friends, my circle is always very small. That is intentional.

I hope and pray for you to have a Bountiful and Blessed holiday season! Remember to use your best judgement and a lot of common sense. Happy Holidays!

When God Says, ‘Wait!’

Have you ever thought about why you have to be put in a position to ‘wait’ for certain things in life? Actually, we are ALL waiting for something. When God says, ‘Wait’ it’s always for a good reason. It’s always for the greater good of our lives. I was gifted this book in 2016 called, ‘When God Says Wait,’ by Elizabeth Laing Thompson. In it, she laid out her waiting seasons in life, most extremely painful and connected them to waiting seasons by powerful women in the Bible. My objective with this post is to provide you with some reassurance that your waiting is not in vain. I would also like to give some tips on what to do to ease the waiting periods in life, no matter how painful!

Everyone of us is waiting for something. Whether big or small, we make our requests known to God and we wait. I know it’s hard when God says to wait. I am waiting for things right now also! Whether we know it or not, the waiting seasons transform us. Most of us are totally oblivious to what we need during waiting seasons. They are uncomfortable, lonely and down right awful if we let them. I like to use the analogy, God is taking us from ‘odd to awed,’ during seasons of waiting.We could be waiting for a job, a husband, a wife, a baby, physical healing in our bodies to a million other things. What God really wants us to do is to focus on him during these times in our lives. Those odd seasons of life can be used to get to know God on a deeper level. We can get to know ourselves better and can let these seasons polish and refine us in such a way to equip us with the answers that God will soon provide us with. Getting to know God on a deeper level is more important than the answer to what we are waiting for.

Here are 5 tips on what to do to be a good steward in a waiting season!

1. Reach out to family and friends who may be waiting on something too. It’s most often that loved ones around you could be strengthened by your story. Check on your strong friends.

2. Use social media less during waiting seasons. Comparison is the thief of joy. For some, social media is not the best place to be while we wait. Try to find other forms of entertainment like reading or music. My love for music stemmed from difficult seasons in my life!

3. Try to find strength by fellowshipping with your church family. As much as time will allow, go to church, Bible study and pray without ceasing. There could be someone who could be going through the exact same situation as you! 

4. Keep a gratitude journal. As humans, we should get into a habit of writing down our feelings. When tough times come, you’ll need to be reminded of what God told you!

5. Exercise and eat a healthy diet. It’s important to take care of your mental health during the waiting seasons that are harder than others.

How To Read More!

Reading feeds my creative well. I remember falling in love with reading and writing as a young girl. My brothers, sisters and I would play school when we were kids and I was always the teacher. As I got older, going to buy school supplies at the beginning of the school year was my FAVORITE time. I loved it. English ended up being my favorite subject in grade school. It came so natural to me. So much so that I went on to study it in college. It seems as if I have been destined to be a professional writer since childhood. It’s not a wonder that I ended up teaching English both abroad and in the states for a total of 10+ years. I was having a conversation with a dear friend recently and she said, ‘…with this new digital age of social media, people want to be entertained and not educated!’ She is absolutely correct. It seems as though people are just not interested in reading anymore. Unless it’s just something that is deeply imbedded in your spirit, it seems like reading and writing are so yesterday. With this post, I want to encourage those of us who still enjoy reading and motivate those of you who don’t find reading fun as well. Here are some tips on how to read more!

1. Get a library card.

2. Read in the morning.

3. Read at night.

4. Read electronically. Whether it’s on an iPhone, iPad, E-Reader or on a tablet.

5. Choose from and download an app specifically for reading. There are the Nook app, Kindle app, Goodreads app and Audible app. Goodreads has a book challenge every year. This pushes you to read and keeps you accountable with your promise to read a set number of books.

Audible is a good app to listen to audiobooks. I downloaded this app a few years ago when I lived in Charlottesville, VA. This app is strictly for audiobooks. I would listen to ‘The Four Agreements’ and ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ while running around Charlottesville. 

Since becoming a member of Goodreads, I have read close to 20 books. That is nowhere near my goal. Right before the pandemic began, I started a book blog on social media. Here is the list of books I featured and read! I hope going into 2022 you are able to create a good reading regimen. In my opinion, education is the key to success and reading is at the forefront on that journey!

1. The Purpose Driven Life.

2. Beat The Clock.

3. Blessings From The Dust.

4. Less.

5. The Bluest Eye.

6. Tipping Point. 

7. The Dorito Effect.

8. When God Says Wait.

9. Trick Mirror.

10. Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Got Married.

Gateway To Greatness!

Since being invited to become a member of The National Society of Leadership and Success, I have access to so many resources and empowering people. This week’s ‘Motivational Monday’ blog captures those individuals who were a part of the Fall 2021 Speaker Broadcast Series with the NSLS. All of these very influential individuals have come from different walks of life but have found themselves in a very powerful position. It is not by chance. Despite the hardships they have faced throughout their lives, they have managed to persevere and I find them very inspirational.

Here are a bio and three Key Takeaways from each speaker that I wanted to share with you! These are the dates and lessons I took from each speaker to use as fuel to create my own success in life or whatever that looks like to you! In my opinion, these gems are needed to enter into the Gateway to Greatness.

Gabrielle Union-October 12, 2021:

Born in Nebraska in 1972, Gabrielle Union studied at UCLA after working as a model for different agencies in her teens. While watching Union speak during her speaker broadcast series, she talked a lot about lessons she learned as an actress before her fame hit full throttle.

1. I want to be known as a truth teller.

2. I want to be known as a freedom fighter.

3. I want to be part of the resistance.

Anita Hill-October 19, 2021:

Anita Faye Hill is an American lawyer, scholar, educator and author. She is a university professor of law, social policy and women’s studies at Brandeis University. She gained fame by accusing Clarence Thomas, her supervisor and US Supreme Court nominee of sexual harassment.

1. We need new thinking.

2. We need new thinking in gender equality.

3. The baton to social justice must be passed from generation to generation.

His Holiness The Dalai Lama-October 20, 2021: 

Born July 6, 1935, His Holiness The Dalai Lama is a member of Tibetan Buddhism. He is 86 years old. These are the three takeaways from His Holiness’ speaker broadcast session.

1. My religion is kindness.

2. Compassion is important.

3. If you want to change the world, change your heart.

Bill Clinton-November 3, 2021: 

Born in 1946, Bill Clinton is an American politician and attorney who served as the 42nd president of The United States of America from 1993 to 2001.

1. Be kind.

2. You have to trust people.

3. It’s not the outcome, it’s the journey.

Rachel Ray-November 9, 2021: 

Rachel Ray is an American celebrity cook, tv personality, businesswoman an author. Host of Rachel Ray and the Food Networks, 30 Minute Meals, Ray also has a line of dog food that is very successful.

1. Have gratitude.

2. Having gratitude gets her out of bed in the morning.

3. Find beauty and grace in the low points in life.

Jamie Foxx-November 10, 2021: 

Born in Terrell, TX, Jamie Foxx  began his career as a comedian on, ‘In Living Color!’ After breakout success, he starred in ‘The Jamie Foxx Show.’ His success in comedy led him to a career in acting where he is now an Academy Award winning actor.

1. Don’t limit yourself.

2. You can come back from anything.

3. Use all of your gifts.