Category: Training

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Fake-it-till-you-make-it-day

When I started to write this piece, I was feeling a bit blue. Initially, I thought I was not going to publish this at all, but, as true and faithful as God is, He showed me the light and I decided to proceed with the publication of this, as the purpose of the blog is to show people that I am only human and that God picks me up when I feel down and out. The days leading up to Fake-it-till-you-make-it-day AKA my Birthday (in April and shortly after the Easter weekend) was rather interesting. My outlook on life and how quickly time goes seems to be changing as rapidly as the wind and tides change. You see, for a long time, even before reaching the age of 40, I have been realising just how short our time on earth is. Watching the movie The Intern with Robert Dinero and Anne Hathaway in the leading roles, made me realise or rather recap this even more.

The movie starts with Robert Dinero as Ben, a 70 year old retired widower, telling this modern, online business, why they should hire him as a senior intern as advertised. He talks about his wife who had passed away three years earlier, how tough retirement is when you have nothing to get up for and how he coped with being retired and alone. He decided to have an attitude of getting out of the house in the mornings to be at the local Star Bucks at a certain time daily. That gave him purpose.

Now back to my life, that makes me think of what we perceive to be the distant future. The reality is, it is closer than what we can ever think. Just yesterday I was 21 years old. In the blink of an eye it is 21 years later and I am celebrating my 42nd birthday. I still cannot seem to get over the fact that I am getting older. I really had this thing in my mind, when I was in my twenties and even thirties, that I don’t think I will ever get THERE you know? Grow old, because it is just so far away and so far in the distant future. NEWS FLASH to all the twenty-something-year-olds reading this – life happens, time goes by! You will age, you will get older. Your kids will leave the house and start their own families and lives without you as their primary care-giver.

2023 marks the year that I know my husband for half of my life. Say what now? Yes, read that again. I have known my husband for HALF OF MY LIFE! Old people know people for half of their lives! Not me! In my mind I am still a 20-something year old. In my mind, I am still 24, still have dreams of becoming fitter and more toned, doing things that my heart desires rather than what pays the bills.

I still have all these plans and dreams, some of which, seem to be ridiculous at this age – the one of becoming more toned for one, seems to be the most ridiculous of them all, yet, I am religiously following my dream, going to the gym three times per week now. I have come to a point, where I am realising that One Day may just not arrive for certain goals I had set for myself unintentionally at a very young age. Having a more than hectic first quarter for 2023, ending up with Vertigo, which is stress related, just makes me weigh up everything in life, especially the work-life balance that I am trying so hard to achieve. I think my biggest wish or goal rather at this stage, is to not be exhausted when it comes to the birthdays of my family members, including my own.

You see, being a Chartered Accountant in business is very stressful. The demands to keep all the balls in the air are just becoming more hectic. As times change, the workload increases. Systems change and every “little” additional thing that we have to send to authorities, effectively adds about 15 to 30 minutes to our already overloaded work schedule. For years I could not figure out why we could just never get ahead with our work. Then it struck me. It is all these changes in systems, things that authorities just expect to happen, without undue interference or hinderance from our side.

Not even to mention the impact that load-shedding has on running a business. We lose internet signal at times, having to live without cell phone reception and internet connectivity for a few hours up to a few days at times (in the extreme cases, which, thank goodness, does not occur frequently. But it normally happens at a critical time). Everything is online you know. Then you cannot do your work. You cannot send e-mails, cannot submit returns. It becomes a frustration.

Anyway, I am NOT here to sing a moan song about the stress of my job, because, at the end of the day I chose my day job, not the other way around. So, I have to make peace with that which I chose to make a living for myself and my family. Back to the day before my birthday. It is Monday evening, 10 April 2023. I am a bit teary eyed, because man, turning 42 felt worse than turning 40. My husband tries to encourage me before we go to put the kids to bed. Lying next to my daughter, now 9 years old, I was silently crying to myself. She turns to me and asks me what is wrong?

Next thing I see, she turns on her bedside lamp, looks me in the eyes and asks me why I think I feel this way. This to me, was so mature for a 9-year-old. I continue to chat with her, telling her that I feel like a bad mother. I feel like I am not nurturing enough, not showing sufficient sympathy and empathy when they are sick or not feeling well. I feel like my impatience is making me a bad mother. I even ended my sentence crying, saying that I am not like her. Because, man oh man, she has a nurturing personality. Something that does not come naturally for me.

She answers that statement by saying that when her tonsils were sick, I took her to the hospital to have them removed. So, I am a good mother. When I responded saying that I did not show much sympathy and empathy with her with the pain, because I got cross with her for being stubborn and not drinking her medication like she should have, she shrugged her shoulders, saying “Such is life.” We continued the conversation, I continued to say that I feel bad that I cannot give her everything that her heart desires. She again answered me with “Such is life. I cannot get a new game on the cell phone I play with every day.”

When I heard these very mature answers from my 9-year-old daughter, I realised that I am doing something right somewhere. All the Ethics training and Tall Trees analysis of my own personality, EI Activator courses and all the other stuff that I do rather than just boring work-related training (this training counts for CPD points by the way), made me realise that it is not in vain. It is starting to pay off. Even if I still have a mountain of training to catch up on, something is working somewhere. I am contributing to the next generation. Trying to raise children with responsibility, accountability, empathy, sympathy, humanity, nurturing habits. I don’t think I always do everything right, but, when I have a day like that and end it off with a conversation like this with my daughter, then I know I cannot call my birthday Fake-it-till-you-make-it-day. Because in reality, I am not faking it, I am actually making it.

All the Glory be to God always. For the instincts He places within us as parents. All the guidance He provides through His word. For being able to call myself a child of God, being so privileged to be chosen by Him first and having this ministry to share with other moms out there, who may be feeling the same emotions and issues than what I am feeling. We are going to be ok. We are making mistakes as we go along, but that is human nature. With God by our side, we cannot help but bear forward and Make it rather than Fake it till you make it. Here is to all the moms out there, feeling like failures! You are not a failure and you are not alone! God is always with you and all those other moms around you, who seem to have it all together, is fighting just as hard to keep on keeping on.

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The Ethics training

It is December 2022. I vowed to finish this Ethics training, which I rolled my eyes to (or is it for?) when the requirements were sent through by SAICA, and I committed to bring it up to date by end of December 2022. Well, all that I can say is that life keeps on happening! My word. I really don’t know how one is supposed to fit everything into a very busy schedule and maintain the balance!

On a cold and rainy day in December, when no one can splash around in the pool, sending me on a pity party because I have to do this training, while everyone else is relaxing, I decided to take on this training thing. What I realised now, is, when I started this training, it feels that I actually approached and did this incorrectly. But, then again, I don’t think there is a right and a wrong way to do this?

In my previous entries that I wrote about this Ethics training, and my experience with it, my focus was more on the journaling side of it, it seems. The part where your brain is stretched a bit. I did do some of the other things in between, watching the videos and so forth, but, my focus was more on the journal side of things it seemed. Which is probably also not wrong, is it? I mean, I experienced it as wonderful and fantastic! Because all the questions that are asked, that you must write about, lets you think, which is wonderful in my opinion! I did not work through all the other documents in detail and in depth. So maybe I should not place the cart before the horses and just do the journaling side of things. I should rather do it systematic, month by month, just like my Boxwood personality loves to do things. The other thing I realised now, is, I cannot do 12 months worth of training in a day. It is designed in such a way to do little-by-little over a longer period….

I then decided to back track with my training, because, you see, after doing each month’s training, you have to answer a few questions to obtain a training certificate. Now this certificate is the most important thing in terms of worldly requirements. This is my proof that I did this thing. I restarted at month two, reading through all the documents, watching all the videos and skipping the journaling side of things, because this has been done. All of these things are very convenient, by the way, and can be done in any way suitable. Either an app on my phone or with an internet link to a website on my computer, available for me anywhere and anytime. I did at some stage, save everything on my Google Drive which also makes it more convenient to access and print as and when needed.

Lynette Berger was so nice to still give me access to this, even if my twelve months since I started this thing, had expired. I am not sure if I am allowed to say this out loud and in the open like I have. But, here it is now! Said and done. Sorry Lynette, if I am the reason for your inbox to overflow with requests after people read this entry.

The documents, which I think, must have taken hours to put together by Probeta, under supervision of Lynette Berger (I am not entirely sure how the structures work there), made me realise just again, how this course fits in with the Pink Feathers of Beroepsvrou. There was absolutely NO way that myself or Lynette and her team, could have known in any way possible, from each other and the content of that which God revealed to us in unique ways and on our different platforms.

The content, it feels, is spot on, page after page. The parts where you have to analyse and dissect your Tall Trees profile, taking it apart, forming and working on being a better person. One of the headings or topics that stood out to me was under the heading Feed your faith and starve your fears. It was month 3 if I remember correctly. WOW. How true is this statement? While reading the content under this heading, it all comes back to what we are feeding ourselves. Emotionally and spiritually. Sounds a bit like my story on the flamingos….I cannot help but to want to give God a fist pump for this, and the fact that He allowed me to discover this course.

Attitudes and outlooks on life is contagious. If you surround yourself with negative people – guess what will happen? You will become one big heap of negativity!! This is exactly how it works in life and here it is, black on white in their notes. I realise just again, how manageable this course actually is. It is our job to ensure that we do not leave everything to the last minute. It took me a few hours to work through a few months’ information. So why do I not do a little every day? 15 minutes daily is manageable is it not?

I just think, in my case, I am so over eager to learn everything, that 15 minutes is not enough. When I find myself again, I am spending hours on these things, working through everything, all while the day job is waiting. Maybe I am over thinking this whole course? Maybe I must set a time limit for myself? Another thing that I also misinterpreted was, the 5 minute ethics moments documents – I thought (I actually do not know what I thought, because clearly I did not think) but, it felt to me that they are all the same. That is probably the reason why I did not read through it in depth…?

Only after further investigation, I saw that the first few paragraphs, which explains the process to be followed, step-by-step, (and is probably aimed at trainees in my opinion), are the same, and then, on page two, somewhere in the middle, the new topics start that must be read, thought about and be answered. It feels that the commentary and statements to be thought about, becomes deeper and more intense as the months progress. Here too I think that God is talking to me, Elsie, directly about my prerequisites – that I am lying to myself, if I think that I am going to feel better about myself and life if certain boxes are checked off.

Now I don’t think that they are trying to say stop everything that you are doing and trying to achieve, because, at the end of the day, that what you are busy doing in your life is what forms a person, to become that which God had planned long ago for each individual on this earth. I do not want to say too much about this, but, there is so much truth that I saw and experienced in this, especially about the anxiety. If you do not live in the present moment, then you tend to live a very anxious life. Ask me!! Been there and done that. I also know people that are still like this. Anxious about what can happen and what happened in the past. I used to live for one day. so much so, that I was missing life and when I woke up one day I was almost 40! It still hurts to think that I missed a bit of my life with this outlook, but, thank God that He woke me up to this. I stopped living for one day and started living in the present moment.

I still have not answered all the questions and reflective moments on all the documents, but, I read through all the content, watched the short videos between 5 and 10 minutes long. Here and there, there is a video that is longer, and this is normally when I approach the Treadmill or switch on the speaker while I am showering and putting on make up. I answered my assessment questions and am now the proud owner of a few Ethical CPD certificates. Enough to satisfy those that do inspections. Enough to satisfy me that I have done what I could with the time available to me. And I just want to add here, that, I am not being hard on myself here. This is reality, there is really no mercy from the professional institutions that we belong to, if you did not comply! Penalties, disciplinary hearings and who knows what else normally lie ahead if you did not do what was expected of you.

This achievement feels like a fist pump moment. With who I do not know, because, I am the only one that has these requirements within our firm. My husband does not understand all the intricate detail of these requirements, but, he supports me when I have to do these things. Even if it is supposed to be holiday time. But it is nice, I enjoy it. Yes, you can say it – I am a nerd and a sucker for these type of things that allow me to develop myself better. Because I just know, that this has a greater impact on my life and the direction that Beroepsvrou is taking. More than what I will ever know or realise. I also realised that my brain was a bit tired after doing three months’ worth of things in one day, and I decided to let it be. I will take on the rest, day-by-day and bit-by-bit in the new year. I know better now what this entails, feeling more comfortable about what to expect and now I know how to approach this. If I could put an emoji here now, it would be the little arm that is flexing his muscles, ready for action.

I truly hope that this entry (of my journey with this training, that felt like the elephant in the room) will inspire someone out there to sign up for this course. Don’t let all the documents and downloads and content overwhelm you. Approach it like you would when eating an elephant (hypothetically speaking of course) – bit-by-bit and day-by-day. Some days you will be able to take on the entire trunk and other days just a little block. But, when you look again, you made progress from the trunk to the tail! Then you would have addressed the elephant in the room. Just do it! Don’t over think it!! You are investing in your life and the best of it all is, the expenses you incurred, are a tax deductible, legit expense (in my case it is because I operate a business – if you earn a salary…maybe not so much). You get hours that count towards your CPD, without the content boring you. It will not provide eye-rolling moments while you are doing this. In my opinion, it is a win-win situation – what are you waiting for?

Die Etiese opleiding
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The word

So I have been walking around with a word in my mind, since last week sometime. The word? Benevolence. Now, for a primarily Afrikaans speaking person, this is a big word. Something that does not form part of my vocabulary at all. I had to go and google the word to see what it meant. The word came to me in English too. Something that does not happen often.

My entries normally start in Afrikaans, my thoughts about it and what I feel God wants me to write are all usually in Afrikaans. But this time it was different. Everything happened in English. I have been carrying this word in my mind, asking God what He wants me to write about it. When something like this is on my mind as much as this was, then I just KNOW I have to write about it.

Of course, when you google the meaning, it means the quality of being well meaning, kindness. I left it there, because what am I supposed to do with this? I KNOW God is Benevolent, so to write about that was a bit of a challenge to me, because what am I supposed to write? The Bible is full of testimonies of God being a Benevolent God.

You see how I have now made this word part of my vocabulary? I have to chuckle at this, a word I have never used before was used more than once in a paragraph. Anyway, I am getting distracted again!

Now before I got the word Benevolence, I had been feeling something in my spirit. I could not quite place my finger on it, because it is a feeling I have felt before but also not felt before, saying all of that in the same breath. I have this agitation hanging over me like a cloud.

I am just so irritated with everything and everyone, why I don’t know. From the dogs, to the parrot, the hamster, the kids, the authorities and their ridiculous requirements for us as CA’s and everything (and everyone) in between was agitating me. This is not normal behavior to me, this is something that I had laid off years ago, yet now it is surfacing again. almost like it is coming up to breathe. Why I could not say.

Then God sent me this word. Everywhere in my mind, I see the word and I am reminded of it. Almost like in life, when you notice something, you NOTICE it if you know what I mean? Like a car brand, once you become aware of it, you see it EVERYWHERE! Now this was the same with this word.

If I have to put this into a picture for you of how it was, it would be as follows – in my mind, I saw it written on a banner, then a billboard, then a road sign next to the road, on pieces of paper, even the mushrooms popping up in the grass seemed to spell Benevolence. That is how in my face it was (only in my mind not physically around me).

This morning I realised WHY God gave me this word. You see, I have a teenager in the house and a little tween, who is becoming a tween too quickly according to me, because she is only 8 years of age. Man oh man, did I forget the knowledge that one supposedly possess at the age of 8 and 13 years.

Being benevolent with them has become a challenge. The arguments of how they think something works and must be, when I know it does not work that way. The attitude that I get when I only put in a sandwich for school (this is the tween by the way) and not something else. Or when I put in the something else in a lunch box that is not to her liking, then all things benevolent fly out the door.

Or when the teenager argues about a steering wheel accessory for the X-Box (yes, we purchased one, something that we said we would NEVER do – well, never say NEVER). And when it is installed and plugged in, it does not work as expected. Something which we told him would happen. Him putting it to one side, because it does not work as he had thought it would, wasting money on something like that not being used. When this happens, all benevolence runs out the door, trying to set a new world record for 100 metre sprints, trying to beat Usain Bolt’s world record.

So here I am. Guilty as charged. Not showing benevolence. I realise that God is pressing very hard on my heart to work on this. I have to use the tools that He is providing. The tools I am referring to, are the Tall Trees Ethics Training from ProBeta and Hettie Brittz. The latest addition to my tools, is the EI Activator, which is an add-on or plug in if I may refer to it in that way (and use some computer lingo, something that I have limited knowledge of), to the Tall Trees Ethics Training.

All of these things take time. It feels like life is happening, not allowing me to get to explore these tools. Lucky for me, it is now a requirement to do Ethics training to remain a CA. That is the reason WHY I chose something useful and purposeful like the Tall Trees Ethics Training and EI Activator. And yes, I say it like that now, because, I decided to look for the positive in this requirement, rather than sitting on the sidewalk, with my can of worms, complaining about the requirements.

I truly hope (and deep down know) that I will find benevolence when I start exploring, dissecting and excavating the field of EI Activator. The ground work and tone is being set in the Tall Trees Ethics Training, I just have to finish that (said tongue in the cheek because I am on month 4 and I have forgotten what was said, so I am probably going to have to redo it all in any way, before I can answer the questions to obtain the CPD certificate), so that I can move on to the EI Activator part of the expedition that I am finding myself in.

I know I have not been Benevolent, this is not God’s plan for me, to not be Benevolent. Let us take up the challenge with the teens and tweens in our house, the authorities, the pets and everything in between. Let us use Benevolence as our tool in this challenge. Benevolence – noun – the quality of being well meaning; kindness. How Benevolent are you?

Die woord
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Being bold… chapter 2

Now I have been meaning to finish this range of entries for some time now and the whole time something else requires more attention from me. Everytime I sit and write about this, storing a draft version, I feel that it is not right. It feels too superficial and actually nothing that God wants me to publish, if I can put it in that way.

Well, one morning in the shower, I think about all my draft versions that have started to write and just never published, and I think about what it really means to be bold. And just like that, the Holy Spirit comes, drops words in my thoughts, almost like when you put coins into a piggy bank.

I think to myself God is terribly on time. Everything on His time. So what God showed me, is, before you can be bold, you must first know what type of letter you really are. And with that I mean your style, your personality type, your body shape (yes this plays a big role in my opinion), who you are as a person, what you stand for on all levels, not only physically. And of course, who you are in Christ.

Then you have to start making peace with it. Apply self-love. I NEVER knew I was an A-shape body type. I always thought that I did something wrong so that my ass (ag I just have to use this word here and those of you who have heard me talk in real life, will understand that this just accentuates what I am talking about) is so big compared to the rest of my body. Instinctively I always purchase dresses rather than pants, because, oh my hat, finding pants that fit this body is just a losing battle it seems. Inherently God built it into me to choose items that flatter my body more, choosing colors and styles that suite my skin’s undertone better, without me even realising it.

Well then, after attending the Masterclass of Aletté Winckler in April, I learnt so much more about my physical appearance. I learnt to make peace with the fact that my bumb is bigger than my upperbody. It is what it is and it is WHAT I make of it.

Then, through all of this, I am busy with Ethics training from Probeta (I have some catching up to do and this is also why you have not heard anything more from me in this regard), based on personality types as described by Hettie Brittz (Tall Trees). Now this is another eye opener if I can call it that. Again, I could NEVER understand how sometimes, I can just go with the flow and be relaxed, taking life as it comes. And then in other situations, I freak out when I feel something does not happen the way I feel it should happen.

Yes you guessed it – THIS is who I am, WHO God made ME to be. I must learn to embrace it, accept it and develop it. This works on an emotional and spiritual level. So between the two things that I do and have done (Tall Trees and Aletté Winckler’s Masterclass), I am busy exploring and discovering who I am and what I am called for. I am also busy with EI Activator (Emotional Intelligence that expands on Tall Trees), but I have not made much progress there as yet, but I just know that the knowledge that I will obtain there will also just add more and more to this process.

So now that I know that I am an A type body letter, a Palm Tree AND a Boxwood, (I cannot elaborate much about EIA because I have to work a bit more through the material to know what I am there), I can proceed to discover myself with God by my side. He is busy teaching me about food (that I feel wants to overwhelm me every now and then) and what I must do to maintain my temple so that I can do the work which He called me for and placed me on earth for. And of course to develop that which needs developing…now my A can be an A that stands out.

To be continued…

Om “Bold” te wees… hoofstuk 2
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Being Bold… Chapter 1

When I initially started this entry, I thought by myself that it is actually artificial (is that the right word to use here? Or is superficial a better word….?) to write about something like this. It is almost like my entry about the centimeters that I had lost, that can be seen as superficial. Though someone told me that the particular entry that I wrote just motivated her to push through with something else….so then it cannot be THAT superficial, can it…?

With the sky covered with clouds, raining ever so lightly, at Magalies Park holiday resort (where we are currently finding ourselves), I reckoned that this is a good place to get the fire burning in the fireplace, to snuggle under a blanket, taking on (and finishing) this entry that I have had doubts about.

As I was showering the other day, I thought about so many things, this entry as well as the one about the unplanned weight loss. I feel a movement in my spirit and the word transformation is all that I can think of.

I realise that the Holy Spirit is showing me that which I had written about, is actually part of a transformation process, to change me Elsie Potgieter. From a normal letter in a document that just flows with the rest to a Capital Bold letter, one that stands out above the rest and is more noticeable.

The point I am trying to make is that I feel that God is busy with a transformation in and through me and of course that is going to manifest in the flesh (in a good way, not the bad manifestation that we normally link to the word manifest).

You see, the world that we live in is a fast paced, fast moving place these days. Almost everything happens on social media. There are so many platforms available that people actually feel overwhelmed by everything and don’t even always know what to look at that is meaningful.

As you may know, I attended a Masterclass hosted by Alétte Winckler in April. During this presentation, she gave a lot of stats about things. How long it takes to create an impression, that woman actually dress to impress other woman rather than their husbands – purely because we live in this very competitive space.

Mrs. So and So MUST be thinner than the one next to her, must have better, prettier hair, make up, clothes, you name it, it must be better. And let me tell you, if Mrs. This and That is not feeling up to her standards and because she fetched her kids from school in her slippers, she does not hesitate to comment and discuss someone else that is dressed better than her on that day that she chose to not put her make up on or even shoes for that matter!

Back to the point that I want to make. The transformation is busy happening. I did not get up one day and decided that by a certain date in 2022 I have to loose this amount of centimeters. And by that date in 2020 I was supposed to have this, that and the next done to transform on the outside.

No, it is almost like my one teacher at school said – every day’s little bit every single day. Bit by bit God is busy stretching me, moving me out of my comfort zone so that I can do His work that He has called me for.

If you do not risk it, you will not win it. I don’t know if this makes sense, in Afrikaans we say Wie nie waag nie sal nie wen nie. My previous sentence was just a direct translation but I am sure you catch my drift here. Sometimes we have to move out of the little block we have placed ourselves in. You know – out of your comfort zone. It starts with something simplistic as changing your hair, that gives you just that little bit of confidence that is needed.

My blog articles that I write, has a purpose and that purpose is to motivate others and to build them up. We are all caught up in this rat race. The balance I feel is just not there! Between work, kids, exercising, preparing meals, eating healthy and everything in between, leaves very little room to truly spend time with God.

Yet the time with Him is so much more important than all our earthly and fleshly needs. Many people that read my entries are working mothers. Full time in a very demanding line of work. Time to exercise is non-existent! Let alone eating healthier AND spending time with God! Not even touching on all the other things we have to spend time on, demands that must be met!

My prayer stays the same – that which I write about will encourage people, letting them know you are not alone. We are all in the same space. We have to MAKE time! I feel if I can do it, then anyone can! It makes me think of a song written by Josh Wilson – That was then, this is now. We all were somewhere and over time we have changed, (hopefully) moving closer to God in the process.

To be continued….

Om “Bold” te wees… hoofstuk 1
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The Ethics training – month 4 (a month to reflect on)

Back to my training, which I am trying hard to catch up (by the way). During April, which is now my month 4 for the journaling side of the ethics training, I did not get to doing what I had worked so hard to keep up and do daily for about 5 to 10 minutes.

The journaling was few and far between. On 25 April 2022 (note the impossible time of the month that I make this decision – I often wonder if that is just part of my personality type according to Tall Trees – to choose the busiest times to do things?). Ok back to the date that I decided that I had to MAKE time to sit and just catch up again on the journaling. After doing the third day’s journaling (all in one day) I realised how much I missed this part of the course. The journaling and getting my thoughts written onto paper.

At this point in time, I feel like an epic fail when it comes to my continuous ethics training, because nothing about it seems continuous. It feels like I am always and forever catching up with things that fell behind! And now the same is happening AGAIN with this training…

I did not even have time to write this piece like I normally do when I feel the inspiration coming, because it has just been busy with work, kids, school and just coping with the colder weather…coping with the cold fronts seems to be taking my energy, because it is not that easy to get up early any more.

So I decided this time around to jot down some notes that came to mind, just so that I do not forget what I want to write about. I also meant to write this article three weeks ago and not now only (actually even earlier but anyway). Now, what I can see that is busy happening, not relating to ethics at all, but rather to my blog, is that I have notebooks ALL OVER THE SHOW! I try to use one dedicated notebook for the blog prompts that I want to keep track of.

But I have a few lying around that I make different notes in (different books for different things). Some sort of order but also not really. To any outside person it will seem like chaos, but I know what is going on there. For how long, I am not sure. It is like I have this overflow of words and thoughts that need to come out and be placed into order somehow.

Many days I wonder what it would be like if writing was my job? Would I find it as satisfying as I do now or would I feel meh about it like I sometimes feel towards my day job, especially during pressure times? Man, here I lost track yet again about what I wanted to say!!

So working through month 4’s journal prompts, I realised that this was a month to reflect on. Reflecting on thoughts, statements and just things. Some of the reflecting journal prompts were like tongue twisters to me! Like that of day 13. Your talk talks and your walk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks. Say this one 3 times fast….

I also realised that this journaling that is incorporated into the ethics training might not seem like everyone’s cup of tea. I know I frowned upon it when I started, thinking WHAT is THIS going to help me? But, later on, I realised that I was wrong and that these journal prompts (which only starts at month 2 if I am not mistaken) are actually just things to get your thoughts going…to start thinking about life differently.

Soooooo….hopefully I will be able to catch up on some journal prompts for months 5 to 7 all in one month AND catch up on the training videos and assessments so that I can finish in the month that I am supposed to finish and have the certificates as proof that I did do continuous ethics training throughout the year… (and not have all of the certificates issued on the same day).

I know I say this every month and I truly hope that I can find a gap between the deadlines and sign off dates of financials and audits to manage this. Not even talking about juggling the family and kids in between all of this…until I write again about the next month(s) experience…thus far it has been a very satisfying journey, even if it sometimes takes a lot of time to catch up when falling behind, frustrating me, but, that is life I suppose….?

Die etiese opleiding – maand 4 (‘n maand van refleksie)
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The training continues…. month 3

My word! I have been doing daily journaling entries like mad! Trying to catch up the lost time since September. Guess what? Life is busy happening while I try doing this, so my plan seems to be full of flaws…

Again I almost had a panic attack (this feels like it happens on a daily basis for the silliest things) about this training and HOW am I going to catch up on this??? I only have access for 12 months and my time is almost up….

Just as I was about to take out the brown paperbag to regulate my heavy and uneven breathing, I feel the Holy Spirit calm me down like only He can do. There is nothing that I can compare His calmness to….not Lavender, white noise or any other thing that has a calming, soothing effect.

My thoughts and anxiety and all the other emotions come to a screetching halt. You know, like when you were driving like a crazy person and saw the huge speed hump almost to late? Like that!

I felt Him drop into my spirit that I do not have to have all the journaling entries done at the same time, writing out a week’s journal prompts in 15 minutes. The purpose of this is, after all, to let you grow as a person. So no one is going to experience true growth if everything is rushed!! The journaling is a process that has to be done bit by bit and not necessarily in chunks like I am trying to do.

I sit back for a moment and think, true that! High five, fist pump and booty shake with the Holy Spirit for that revelation. But then I ask Him “So HOW am I supposed to catch up on the lost time?” His answer is simple. “Download the content that is currently available, work through the video’s and other material and do the online assessment.”

He continues: “That should do it. The journaling is a process and a journey you are on, you are not supposed to rush that. The online assessments are like all other training. You can do many shortly after another. You will be storing the knowledge for use later.“

I have not tried this yet and perhaps that should be my plan of action? To do it like that? I think it is time for watching videos and reading the material, while walking on the treadmill and then doing the assessments….

Die opleiding gaan voort…. maand 3
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The Continious Ethics Training continues…. Month 2

Note the pun in the heading. Anyway, back to my experience of this thing called training and ethics….so at first I rolled my eyes (I have said this before) at having to do training about being ethical. To me it comes naturally and that is my expectation that I have of others.

Clearly everyone does not function like I do (what a shocker to my system but a reality and truth). But as I work through everything, I realise that there is something deeper here. Of course no one can be taught to be ethical! But you can start to think about your thoughts and how it influences your life and actions.

I was freaking out somewhere between September 2021 and February 2022 about this ethics training. Everytime I get a notification about new content (at the beginning of the month) I almost start to hyperventilate. Because seriously, WHERE am I supposed to find the time to DO that which is expected of me. I only did month 1 by end December and now I have to catch up 11 months in something like 8 months or less (I don’t know, I did not calculate this and quite frankly my brain is too exhausted to calculate how many months are left of my 12 months ethics).

Then, amongst all the chaos I was experiencing, God calmed my thoughts. It is ok to fall behind. It happens. Again I was freaking out because now I am only in month 2’s journalling that has to take place daily and HOW AM I GOING TO DO THIS??? I was almost screaming in my mind to God (with respect). Throwing a tantrum.

It took me the whole of January to figure a lot of things out, including this training that I have to fit into a very busy schedule. Then somewhere between screaming and freaking out, the light came on. What this process is trying to teach you is to not start your journal entries with Dear diary. Nope. What they are trying to get us to do is to declutter your mind of stuff and thoughts that occupy you and steal your joy and focus.

Once you start writing them down and getting them out of your mind, you can become more focussed on the day ahead. Easier said than done BUT this is the bottom line I think. We have so much clutter on so many levels in our lives, it is SCARY! It becomes intimidating and when you see again you are overwhelmed, underpeforming and anxious all at the same time.

I made a conscious decision during the first week of Feb, to just START with this training and just do it. And I did. And that makes me feel more accomplished because I am making baby steps in progress….and guess what??? You don’t HAVE to do every day’s journalling for month 2 before you can proceed to month 3.

No, you can journal daily, watch month 2’s videos (and read the material by the way), do the assessment and move on to month 3. That is what I am going to do. I can answer more than one daily journalling thought if I want to, there are no rules, so it is manageable to actually catch up.

What I am also going to do, is combine what ever is added on in month 3 with month 2’s journalling and just expand. I have no idea what month 3 has installed for me but I am ready for it. Thank goodness I have a higher power (called God if you were wondering) watching over me. What I also started doing, is to answer 2 to 3 journalling questions on one day. That way I will also make progress and catch up!! My plan for this is like every plan in life – under development and subject to change.

God inspires me, calms me, gives me my plans to overcome my fears and problems I face daily so that I can so something as simple as this ethics training. It is really not that hard and it will really benefit me in the long run. You see, what you, the reader of this article, don’t see is, in the background there are all these anxiety thoughts I have daily about stuff, life, kids, work.

This affects my ability to work and be productive. So to the outside world I look like something, I don’t know what to compare myself with, but I appear to be something I am not, to others. I put on a brave face daily, smile and waive, fake it till you make it type of attitude, which is what others perceive to be this thing which I am not.

However, between writing this blog, doing my bible study while blogging and journaling my thoughts like I am being thaught in this course, I am actually becoming something and someone better than what I was before. This all helps me to declutter my mind and not be as panicked as I used to be.

I still don’t get it right on a daily basis, but some days are better than others. This all is a learning and developing process to me. And of course God showed me what I could use one of my Beroepsvrou diaries for! For this ethics journalling and daily bible verses!

One thing I have noted, is, after I started writing this article at the beginning of February, an amount of time has lapsed. Two weeks (or is it three?) have passed and I am trying my utmost best to do this ethics journaling daily on a weekday (weekends are different because then our routine is slightly different). Anyway, back to what I am trying to say. When you answer the journaling questions (that just gets your mind going) about how you can improve, for example on finishing tasks, it is like the devil and all the spawn of the devil, attacks you on what you wrote down.

To me this is very interesting, yet nothing new. You see, when ever this happens to me, I grin and I take note of this, because when I feel under attack, I know I am on the right track! The devil also knows my potential and he will try everything to stop me from doing what needs to be done.

Don’t be discouraged if you have had a two to three week period like I have after starting this ethics journaling. It only means you are doing something right and you must persevere and push through! And as if God just wants to confirm what I am saying here, I get a bible verse shortly after finishing up this article – 2 Thessalonians 3:3. What a powerful and profound scripture to get when feeling like you are under attack!

So, if you are still wondering if it will be worth it to do this course, or where you will find the time – stop overthinking it. Stop procrastinating like I did for months. Just start doing and before you know it, you will be so much more knowledgeable than what you were before you started this whole thing.

One thing I have noted from this training is you HAVE TO READ everything!! Before you attempt the questions and assessment, make sure you READ the content…after all, it will only strengthen your knowledge and self-worth.

I can conclude that I can do all things with Christ! Phillipians 4:13. I can even do this training thing, work AND be a mom! And nogal in February, our busiest month! Because really, WHEN is it a good time to start? It is now or never!

To be continued…..

Die Deurlopende Etiese Opleiding duur voort…. Maand 2
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The continuous ethics training

Yes, I am talking about this topic again. January 2022 is gone (how I do not know but it is over) and I have not done ANYTHING to make progress on my continuous ethics training hosted by Tall Trees. I enrolled in September 2021 for a 12 month programme.

I started it with the hope and anticipation that I would do my bit every week so that this training is NOT like a mountain in front of me. But, guess what? Life happened! Work life and life-life’s life happened…

I started off well and somewhere in September I started watching the first lot of videos, made notes, etc. But then the end of year rush started, as I like to refer to it (this starts normally around September) and there is that plan up in smoke.

End of December I was sitting in front of my computer doing my tax training that was required before the 31st. (Yes, I have to do that TOO between everything else). I realised, as I was working through everything, that I NEVER finished my first month of ethics training…..

Luckily one can do this in your own time and when it suites you, which is not necessarily good for my personality….because training actually never suites me. Let us be honest, no one is ever wanting to do training. There are always more important things to do, work, children, etc….

But this training is different. I WANT to do it, it is just the number of hours in a day and week does not permit me to do training. This is not hard, it is interesting and insightful. If you break it down the way that they wrote it, then it is manageable in my opinion.

We must just get our heads around it and do it. Something that I can confirm is, that I do try my very best to prioritise my tasks, all which are written in a book by the way, into the 4 quadrants that Lynette spoke about in the very first video….

It will definitely help one to prioritise, it is just hard for me to distinguish which tasks are Important & Urgent. Because it is these tasks that requires priority attention – those which are both important AND urgent….and no one else can help me except me. I really still feel like a headless chicken, January was a difficult month in the sense of getting started again after the holiday.

I am most certainly going to try my utmost best to get to my ethical training again this coming week….maybe I can learn a little something that I can apply to my ever increasing and growing list. The work that comes in at 90 miles per hour while I get work out at 1 mile per hour….

I pray for help from above, because alone I cannot do it…as the Psalm writer wrote – I lift my eyes unto the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord who created heaven and earth…..

Die deurlopende etiese opleiding

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New Years’ Eve’s day’s training….

Before I even proceed, I am doubting my title. What do you call the day before New year? New Years’ Eve’s day? That just sounds a bit weird and wrong. In Afrikaans we call it Oujaarsdag. Anyway, back to my story. So you guessed it. Like a peanut, I was sitting, doing training the day before new year. Why? you might ask. Well, my career and qualification requires me to do a certain amount of hours for certain things every year. Normally I get everything done throughout the year and I manage to get it done By the hair on my chinney chin-chin so that I do not have to do anything in December about training.

But, the past two years, 2020 and 2021 were DIFFERENT. I did not have enough hours in a day to do everything and every December, it was me staring at my CPD hours. Almost like an old Western movie where the two cowboys have to draw their guns and shoot at each other to survive.

You see, in 2020, the whole world had to homeschool their kids for a certain period of time due to Hard Lockdown. I really do not have to elaborate more about how much washing and dishes we had to do, not even talking about how much we ate and how little work and schoolwork we got done. Everyone was in the same boat and everyone can relate.

OK back to my training. So here I am, sitting on the last day of 2021 with 5 hours of tax training left to do. It does not sound like a lot. But if your whole family is outside in the swimming pool busy having the time of their lives (so it feels) and wanting something to eat every five minutes is seems, because everyone is H-U-N-G-R-Y, then the 5 hours feel like 5 days. Not even to mention the house that cannot seem to keep itself clean!

Systematically I work trough the requirements in my mind. IRBA wants ethics training – I can check that off the list. My Tall Trees training from ProBeta helped to sort out that requirement. I check and double check the list (almost like Santa Clause making his list and checking it twice), the whole time I end up back with the tax hours that I need. I do not have sufficient hours for that. I can almost hear the buzzer going off in my mind, you know, like in the game shows when someone gives the wrong answer and is buzzed out.

For a moment I want to get up and run around like the Sponge Bob & Patrick giff that one finds on Whatsapp, Panic & run and screaming because I am now almost out of time. I wonder if I will hear the buzzer or not…..if I do not have my certificates dated 2021, then it is over. 1 January 2022 does not help me ANYTHING. Then I calm down and pray for help. Then God reminds me of one of ProBeta’s new platforms that they released a year or two ago.

Akhanani (I ALWAYS have to double check this name, because I just cannot remember it and get it right on my own….) is the name of the platform where you can purchase training like you would purchase goods from Take-a-lot. You choose what you want and then you go to the check out, make payment and you are on your way! Your training is there, your assessment that you have to complete to ensure that you did in fact listen (and the golden ticket – the training certificate as proof of your training) are all included in the price. Before checking out and making payment, I remember about two vouchers that I had affording me 50% discount. I sigh a sigh of relief when I see they are still active and working, reducing the costs to an even cheaper price that what I was supposed to pay.

Now I start to work through the training. It is torture but I push through and bear forward. I do the assessment and thankfully I pass it! You must now remember, I am doing this in between marking and labelling school stationery. I am multi tasking like never before. The next two sessions are half an hour sessions and I decide to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen while I listen to Wessel Smit’s voice.

I feel like a champion after obtaining the last certificate, around 5 pm on the last day of 2021. The kids look like they do not have too many emotional scars from me having to do training in between holiday time and marking the stationery. But suddenly I am exhausted and now it feels to me that this was ALL that I had done this past holiday (another lie I know).

A few days after this training, the 3rd of January to be exact, I have a conversation with someone. I explain about this training that I had to do and how hard it was for me, but I managed to get it all done. I close off with “Do you know what? Today, as I sit here, I have to do EVERYTHING all over again. That training that I did a few days ago, helps me NOTHING for 2022!”

It is terrible to think of it like this, starting all over, is it not? The lesson that I have learnt from this whole thing, is to stop Procrastinating about things that are less fun to do (like training – let us admit it, doing training does not get everyone out of bed jumping for joy). Do not leave everything until the last minute. I need to get my act together and start doing things the way I did it before this whole Pandemic started. The Boxwood in me wants to plan and not be caught like this, having to do things on number 99.

The Palm tree in me, on the other hand, is the one that Procrastinates and postpones. The motto is after all, Tomorrow is another day is it not? You see, for 2 years, since the start of the Pandemic, she was placed in a dark box, not allowed to breathe or have a say in anything. But, she managed to work her way into my life and planning somehow….while I am sitting and typing this, I am very grateful and thankful that I managed to meet the deadline and that I did what I had to do by 31 December 2021.

I am also very grateful for my training that teaches me more about myself, how I react in certain situations when life gets too heavy and hard. Also just being able to understand everything and everyone a little bit better. Of course it is easier said than done to do a little bit everyday (like my school teacher tried to teach us – Elke dag se bietjie, elke liewe dag). One nice thing is that everything is available for me to do in my own time (that of course, does not work for the Palm tree in me, by the way).

I just know, with the Tall Trees Continuous Ethics training that I have access to, as well as Akhanani (that is very cheap and easy to use by the way) I will get my training hours sorted in no time in the new year! I must just DO IT! I just know, deep down inside of me, this is the year that things are going to normalise for us, systematically and gradually. December 2022 I am certainly NOT going to sit catching up on training again! The balance between the Boxwood and Palm tree within me will surely be achieved…….

Ou jaar se opleiding…
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Training while training…

Last week I was trying to be super effective. You see with the computer crash the week before, I lost some valuable work time. The documents on the computer are not a big issue, although as time passes by, I realise what I needed and used – mostly templates and control sheets for internal use, thus not really affecting the work output. Although it affects me, as I feel lost without everything that I was used to using on that machine!

So Monday afternoon, I get on our treadmill and I decide today is the day that I am going to exercise WHILE watching some training videos. I could not go to the Cross Fit club as my children were ill. I had to do the responsible thing of being a mother and take care of them and put my own needs aside. You see, I realised that I NEED exercise to stay sane. For years I was praying to God to help me LOVE exercise. Guess what? He came through for me! Now I deter missing a week of exercise!

I am also one of those people who like to think I am effective. A scenario such as the one from last Monday is a typical one. If I can exercise WHILE doing something to take my mind off the walking on the Treadmill, well, then I do it!

I decide to start climbing the mountain of Ethics training that is literally lying in front of me like Mount Everest. You see, since signing up in September, I have not really left the base camp as yet. I try to do what needs to be done and then some or another snow storm hits, forcing me back to pretty much where I started.

I spent a good 30 minutes or so on the treadmill, reading through the first four weeks’ worth of documents that have to be completed and tended to on a weekly basis. Of course I did not do this – complete them as they should have been done. But at least I READ them. That is a start. Now my brain knows what to expect.

Again I had eye-rolling moments reading through the content. I was thinking to myself, how can people not know this? Why do people have to have ethics training? Is it not something that just happens? Well clearly not! I realised that these documents are meant for trainees too – not only for people such as myself with 20+ years experience in the field (now I sound OLD if I look at the number of years’ experience I have…).

Young adults entering our business world, who may not have been brought up in an ethical environment. That is why the layout is the way that it is. I should not roll my eyes at it but rather just roll with it if this makes sense? Just do it, even if I KNOW it, just do it. That is the requirement.

One of the documents catch my eye – learning to say No. This is interesting. A skill I am yet to master. Something I personally struggle with. I read through it and realise that my eye-rolling moments for week one’s training notes should be withdrawn. I can benefit more from this than what I realise!

I then start to watch one of the videos – one of the first ones where Hettie Brittz speaks. I only get up to about 5 minutes into the video and then my time is up. I have to finish on the Treadmill and start supper….immediately regret takes over. I should not have spent all that time reading through the documents! I should have watched the videos!

But, now I know how I am going to take on Mount Ethics. One step at a time and where needed, I will use the Treadmill to burn some calories that accumulated during the day from all the coffee that I had while slaving away behind my laptop.

I just also HAVE to mention – while doing this training, I did NOT set up my laptop next to the treadmill! No – I used my phone. Probeta was so kind enough to design an Application that can be used on phones and tablets to assist you on the go, literally like I did while walking on the treadmill…with this being said, one really does not have any excuse for not doing this training! Make a plan man!

I also decided somewhere through this post to not blog this one in Afrikaans. You see, the heading Training while training will just not be as catchy and effective in Afrikaans….Opleiding tydens oefening just does not sound right to me!

Watch out for the next blog post about this Mountain that all CA’s in South Africa are trying to climb! You might just get some tips and tricks or even motivation to start the process and just do it…

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To write and blog

God has laid it on my heart for a while now to make this entry. At the Adorned camp that I attended beginning of September, I chatted with someone about my ability to write. As I was talking to her, the words just came out as to how it started that I could write. For those of you who do not know about the camp, read the post about Heart, Heartbeat, Rhythm.

Ok, so back to my story that I told on the camp. I spoke with Lynn Grobler from Journaling on the Way. I mentioned to her that I am convinced that my background for my work and the training that I did, gave me the advantage to be able to write. She was quite surprised when she heard that. This, together with the fact that I think my mom had this hidden talent to write and that I inherited it from her enables me to write the way that I do.

You see, my mom wrote to each of her three daughters a very personal letter on our 21st birthdays. This was so special and precious to me. We never had conversations like these in real life. It was more reduced to writing if I remember correctly. As time went on it changed to sms messages, e-mails and Whatsapps. Not always DEEP things, but things that were just dealt with easier in writing than verbally – if this makes sense what I am trying to say.

So my training as a Trainee Accountant taught me that my files should speak for themselves. Any audit file, must be able to stand on its own two feet, so to speak, without me uttering any words whatsover about that file. The file must be able to tell the reader, one with reasonable knowledge and background, why I did the tests I did and why I made the professional conclusions that I did.

There I go again sounding like an Audit Standard!! But I took this very seriously. My files can, at any time, be subject to review by the professional bodies that I belong to. Because of this, I took it very serious! Things must be done right the first time around! I also did the training to ensure that I remain relevant and up to date with changes, and also because my qualification required me to do, what felt like endless hours of training, annually.

When I started my own practice, I searched for more training. I was now the responsible person, the partner. I must ensure that everything is correct. You know what a mammoth task that is and how much uncertainty that creates within oneself? None-the-less, I found Probeta to assist with training. I often attend their training sessions, all of those which I consider to be relevant to my practice. I must admit, this too gave me the advantage that enabled me to write – the training that I received from them.

The institution to which I belong, SAICA, changed the rules surrounding training in 2020. Thank goodness for this, as this was just before the Pandemic hit the world and everything was left in turmoil! It makes life so much easier, even if we all were uncertain as to what to do and how it works. As soon as you embrace change, then it no longer overwhelms you. What I also learnt over time, is, if you are teachable then you get so much further in life. But, if you go through life Knowing it all then it gets hard. No one can teach you anything if you do not WANT to learn!

In 2021 the rules changed YET AGAIN. This time the requirement is Continuous Ethical Training over a 12 month period. Yes, I admit, I rolled my eyes at this change. I mean SERIOUSLY. Just ANOTHER thing to fit into a schedule that is already so busy and overflowing with STUFF to do. And ethics of all things? Do we as CA’s REALLY have to learn about being ethical? It is burnt into my heart to ALWAYS try to do the right thing, even if no one is watching. I still cannot understand people who do not think the way I do and act the way I do. Anyway….

This whole year, since the changes came into effect, I have been postponing this ethics thing purely because of the uncertainty surrounding it and what it entails. Probeta sends an e-mail about a twelve month program that they host and it meets the requirements of SAICA. I read the marketing material and decide THIS is what I am going to do! I am not even going to TRY to do anything continuous on my own as it is more than likely to end up in an EPIC FAIL. Recovering from that is just going to create more issues!

I also decide to take the best option that they present, the one that goes into depth about your character. I am, after all the boss and I have to KNOW things so that I can train others. I am not even going to waste my time with the first option, not that it is a waste of time if you get what I am trying to say? I need the hard core stuff you know? If I can refer to it like that!

After signing up, a month passes by before I get going with this program. Ok, three weeks after signing up, towards end of September. I start working through the material and deep inside my spirit I feel this excitement awakening in me! Seriously WHO gets excited about TRAINING of all things?

The theme? Authentic journalling. My husband laughs and says it sounds like something that woman would love to do. I roll my eyes at his comment and decide to just proceed. I committed to this thing so I have to do it. If I don’t then I am no longer valid with SAICA. I do my Tall Trees Analysis – the one where your character is identified as a certain type of tree, based on Hettie Brittz’s books Growing kids with character.

I receive my analysis back and read through it. I stand in awe and amazement of the feedback. It summarises my personality and character to the point. It is as if Hettie was sitting opposite me, doing an interview with me and summarised me in person. I go back to my report from 2019 and see that my profile has changed. “This is strange.” I think to myself. I contact Lynette Berger from Probeta via e-mail. Half concerned and amazed at the same time.

Her feedback? One’s profile can change and that is why they recommend that you do this regularly to ensure that you get to know yourself and know how to deal with certain situations that you may encounter. I start to wonder by myself WHY my profile would have changed. The answer? The Pandemic. The Pandemic that changed EVERYTHING and ALL of our lives.

This afternoon (yes on a Saturday afternoon) I watch the introductory video of Authentic journalling and as she speaks and explains things, so many more things start to make sense to me and how my blog entries actually take form and get life so to speak. You see, for me, the words start turning and moving around in my head. The concept begins THERE as a thought. But, if I do not write it out, it becomes cluttered in my brain.

It is usually then that one starts to feel overwhelmed and then you end up just staring at your computer screen not knowing WHERE to start. BUT, if you start to just make a list of what to do, you channel your thoughts into written format. Lynette describes so many things so wonderfully in that video – for those of you who have to do ethical training, it is worth the watch and you will understand what I am saying here better.

But do you know what my problem is? My lists get lists for the lists of lists of things that have to be done. Yes, you may laugh, but we ALL have lists for lists!! As Lynette describes it, the written form is the physical manifestation of something that was in your thoughts or, as I also refer to it, within your spirit.

I realise now that, 2020 was one HUGE challenge for me. I am still trying to catch up work from 2020. You see, the Boxwood tree that I am, does not like it when things are out of control. So the Pandemic just did not work for me – everything felt out of control. You get to a point where you just do the BARE MINIMUM. But the bare minimum does not necessarily fall within the quadrant that makes you function optimally.

“Quadrant?” you ask. “Yes” is my answer, “quadrant”. Lynette explains in her video that you spend your time on stuff that can be categorised into four quadrants. For those of you who have NO IDEA what I am talking about – take a page and split it into four parts. Draw a line from the top to the bottom (in the middle of the page) and again from left to right, also in the middle of the page. Each block presents a quadrant…..

Each block has a name. It is one of four – Important & urgent, Important & not urgent, Not important & urgent and lastly Not important & not urgent. If your time spent falls into the last two quadrants, it usually means that chaos rules in your life. This I can confirm – is how 2020 was for me. I was more worried about the washing that was busy piling up and the house that I almost HEARD getting dirty as everyone moved around, than what I was about getting work done. I just could not function.

God has helped me to create order by journaling on this platform. Of course there are MANY things I cannot blog about, because it is just too personal to share with the whole world. What I also realised is that, if you do not make time to share your thoughts and emotions with God in a written format, you are actually exposing yourself to gossip.

Yes, you read correctly. We all fail at some stage – we tell something quickly about something that someone did. If you do not guard against this, it becomes gossip. I realise now, that, I have to journal even more frequently to channel my thoughts, which Lynette also describes as energy, and get it out of my system so that it does not make my heart turn black and bad. I know emotions are energy and do emotions not arise from thoughts? Actually, we as human beings, are one bundle of energy that needs to be channeled correctly.

Only once we get to that point, then God can use us truly what we were placed on this earth to do. Until such time we will remain like waves in the ocean being tossed around by the wind….the long and short of a not so short post? Go an channel your energy so that you can use it in a positive manner! I am so excited about the journey that God is taking me on. I am excited about this training, because I know that I will come out the other side as a changed person.

All the glory be to God always! He gives us the talents to serve others and to help them and lead them to Him. We must sow the seeds and when the time is right, the Holy Spirit will give it water and it will germinate in the people’s lives in whom we have sown seed.

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