Beauty In A Shitty Life: Looking Through A Clean Lens

By Zoliswa Tshetshe

Brave lives matter. Yours is waiting to be unleashed. Unlock your potential, and take a step towards freedom, by getting rid of those negative beliefs that limit you. Find insights into the source of blockages that restrict your progress, and learn how to clear your cluttered path to success.

The author, Zoliswa Tshetshe, takes the reader through an unfolding journey of identifying self-limiting beliefs and negative thoughts that keep you in lockdown. Understand paradigms and how best to shift them to live a meaningful life. This book will inspire you to shift from flattening your curve, remove yourself from unfavourable entanglements, and see beauty in a shitty life as you ‘shut up, shape up and show up.’ Realise that it is a journey, and dance as you are getting there.

Zoliswa Tshetshe is the award-winning author of I Serve.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zoliswa Tshetshe
• Release date: Nov 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005000745

Zoliswa Tshetshe

Zoliswa Tshetshe was born in the Eastern Cape and grew up between Fort Beaufort and Port Elizabeth where most of her early days experiences took place. She later relocated to Johannesburg in search of "greener pastures". This is where she met up with the core of her authentic self. A purpose driven and highly inspired individual, her passion for people development has come through in her quest to strive towards excellence in every aspect of her career life. She had worked in people management and development space for almost 15 years when the call to start writing came. Zoliswa holds a Psychology and Education degree with postgraduate studies in Management and a Master of Business Administration. She is inspired by true life stories and empowerment of people to start again. She is the founder of Lingelam Visionaries whose mission is to catalyse progress towards 'your' next - whatever your area of next is. She is a certified Transformational Coach and Inspirational Speaker. Check out some of her inspirational videos on https://www.facebook.com/speakitwithZoliswa and https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=zoliswa+tv.

Book preview

BEAUTY IN A SHITTY LIFE

Looking through a clean lens

Zoliswa Tshetshe

Award-winning author of I Serve

Copyright © 2020 Zoliswa Tshetshe

Published by Zoliswa Tshetshe Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Zoliswa Tshetshe using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Edited by Kevin Turner for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.org

E-mail: [e-mail]

Zoliswa Tshetshe

[e-mail]

Table of Contents

Preface

Invocation

Introduction

Part 1: Shut Up

1. The Pile Of The Past

2. A Part Of Me

3. Reawakening In Thailand

4. The Journey Of 40 Days

Part 2: Shape Up

5. The Story I Tell Myself

6. The Current Situation

7. Creating Your World

Part 3: Show Up

8. Paradigm Shift

9. Taking The Next Step

10. Getting There

References

Quotes

Acknowledgements

About The Author

Preface

Life is like pulling on a pair of skinny jeans. The hard work behind the scenes is nothing compared to the almost perfect look of the final presentation. Envision the outcome you have in mind as if it has already happened. Setting clear intentions is a laser-like tool to help you focus and which directs your attention towards living the life you aspire to. This notion dawned on me when I was feeling drained, overwhelmed, and miserable; at the time, I was about to leave the corporate world. The countdown to my early retirement had started, and I had taken a decision to follow my heart, despite many people telling me not to risk it. Words of advice coming from those that would never take such a risk implied that I had to accept that life was not meant to be lived happily; instead it should be lived securely. The most difficult battle for me to fight during that period was to resolutely keep thinking my version of the truth, no matter what. I had to think positively, sustainably, and consistently, even amid evidence that suggested a different message. One Sunday afternoon, I connected to a Zoom video conference call for a guidance session with my life coach. I must have been carrying the burden of my conflicting thoughts on my face, because she asked me if I had slept well the night before or was I sick. I was feeling sick, because I had not had much rest over the preceding days. I had been tossing and turning at night, trying to manage my thoughts, but all in vain. I yawned and apologised as I shared with her the story of my latest encounters. She told me that it appeared as if I was lacking clarity and direction.

Have you set intentions for 1 June 2019? she asked. That date was far away, and it had not occurred to me that I needed to create in my mind an image of what that specific day would look like. It would be the first day after 22 years of being an employee in the corporate world. I had been waking up to go to work every working day for all those years, and, as a result, I felt that my life purpose lay where I spent most of my waking hours. It felt like the new trajectory I was about to follow was interfering with what I thought of as an established career and a life I had already figured out. If you had asked me the question How are you? a few years before my overwhelmed state, my ego would certainly have answered, I am excellent! This would have meant that my life was sorted because the career aspect of it was going well. Of course, spending most of my time on my career implied that this was my life. Nothing more mattered. And yet, there I was, removing myself from the workplace, the one place that had given me a sense of meaning for all my adult life. What was to become of my excellence then?

Where you put your attention is understood by the universe as your intention. As such, it will give you more of what your attention is focused on. Those were the words of my coach, as she looked directly into my eyes with the expression of a person who is sharing classified information about secrets intended only for a select few. She leaned forward and adjusted her webcam as if to look directly into my eyeballs. The tone of her voice changed to firm and confident, yet caring and supportive. I was convinced that she would have touched my shoulder if we were not separated by the distance. She was in the United States of America and I was in South Africa. I had considered myself as excellent due to the flourishing career-driven life I thought I had. I had never given myself time to imagine a typical day of my new venture from morning to evening. I had allowed the external locus of control to take over. Unfortunately, facts informed by emotions of fear and anxiety from a premise of a negative belief system seemed to weigh heavy on me. Those emotions appeared stronger than the wisdom shared by those who had mastered the relationship with their thoughts. I was led to take a close look at my aspirations and to set an intention of how that life would look, using an active thinking process.

Aspirations are the hopes of achievement or destiny sought by the aspirant person. They are informed by the intention, which is that which you want or plan to do. I subscribe to the notion that all things are created twice. The first creation happens in thoughts in the mind, and then in form, as physical or tangible manifestation. The focus of attention signifies where the intention is. It is an indicator of what the mind is aiming to manifest. As I thought through the question of whether I had set an intention for a typical day of the future life I had chosen for myself, I visualised a life where I corrected the mistakes of the past; a life of undoing the wrongs committed previously; and a life of leading a meaningful existence. I opened myself to the possibility of allowing the manifestation of the best version I could be, so that I could begin with the end in mind. I needed a source of strength that would keep me going through thick and thin. I needed a daily energiser to get me to carry on, so I chose to focus unwaveringly on daily affirmations, which would remind me of who I sought to be in all aspects of life.

When I set intentions, I create a template to validate what already exists in a different realm while awaiting manifestation. I dream it and believe that anything I desire is achievable. For this reason, I jump out of bed to take a step towards building that dream to bring it to life. When I discovered this truth, I believed more in myself and realised that, as a matter of fact, I am still me. I hid behind one aspect of my life and excelled at it. It was a comfortable hiding space from all those other issues that had always called for my attention. The time had come for me to acknowledge and embrace that the daily dose of oxygen that I breathed was intended for me to carry a life purpose. I succumbed to my truth and decided to search for beauty in a shitty life. The process directed me to take time out, to shut up, shape up and show up. Ask me the question, How are you? now, and I will tell you that I am getting there. I am constantly learning from the university of life. My previous accolades are nothing compared to the impact of the daily lessons I learn. This is the world where we grow to live, learn, and leave a legacy.

Invocation

May the greatness that is seeking to surface

through you come to light!

May you open yourself to letting go of

limiting beliefs about yourself!!

May you become a person of increase!!!

Having created your reality in your mind, now begin to view life through a clean lens as you draw

closer to your goals.

Introduction

Beliefs shape the unfolding of our lives. Whether they are positive and supportive or negative and limiting, they inform the interpretation and acceptance of how we live our lives. Past experiences that had an impact on you will certainly surface at a later stage to give meaning and to explain the reason why things are the way they are. This is what creating reality is all about. This book outlines the curve of life, a shift from a mediocre outlook on life to creating and embracing self-supporting beliefs. It points out the meaning and impact of synchronicities and serendipities that, when observed in hindsight, make the game of life a worthy and fulfilling game to play. It directs the reader to focus on the goal to be achieved with the reminder to imagine that, in some realm, the future is happening today and to act on that imagination. It also supports the notion that success, however it is defined, is a combination of a growth mindset and continuous action.

This book is divided into three parts, namely, shut up, shape up, and show up. Together they are presented in ten chapters, rich with real life examples that illuminate the points I make here. Chapter One covers the pile of the past, where I tell stories of the events that happened much earlier in my life and how they affected my view of life, then and later. The second chapter deals with tackling inner conflict, where different parts of oneself seem to disagree on things. The next chapter outlines how the universe can isolate you in a space where you have no option but to be present in your life, shut up and reflect. It draws on messages given to us by the universe everywhere around us. Chapter Four elevates synchronicities that came as unrelated metaphors, driving a consistent message of transformation.

The next three chapters address shaping up. Chapter Five takes us to the voices we listen to, the stories we tell ourselves and how those shape our belief system. The sixth chapter reflects on how we can view the current situation as a stepping-stone to the next phase of our lives. Chapter Seven is about being in a constant state of creating your world as you live your life.

Chapters Eight to Ten talk to showing up. The eighth chapter introduces the reader to turning around, using a paradigm shift process. Chapter Nine is about taking the next step in the direction of your desired life. The final chapter explores the recognition of your successes that contribute towards you getting there amid difficulties.

Each chapter concludes with a story from the life of an animal, insect or bird relevant to the chapter, indicating lessons we humans can learn from our surroundings. The engagements at the end of each chapter are designed to have you apply the insights that come through for you as you read the book. They seek to inspire you to reflect on your life, connect with your own stories, and begin your own journey of personal transformation.

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