On December 3rd, we come together to observe the International Day of Persons with Disabilities—a day dedicated to honoring the unique abilities, remarkable resilience, and enduring strength of individuals living with disabilities. While this day spotlights the contributions and challenges of those with disabilities, it also invites us to consider the deeper lessons of growth, development, and perseverance that we can all learn from their journeys.

Personal development is a continuous process for everyone, but it often carries a deeper significance for people living with disabilities. It is not simply about achieving external goals but overcoming daily challenges and finding the courage to break through barriers that the world may place in their path. Whether these are physical, emotional, or societal barriers, each step forward is a triumph of will, faith, and determination. This is personal development in its most authentic form: the persistent pursuit of growth despite adversity.

As we meditate on the holy Scripture, we are reminded that our purpose in life is not to please the people around us but to serve the Almighty. The Bible enlightens us that living our lives in service to Jesus enables us to do everything for His glory.

These profound words act as seeds of hope planted in the depths of our minds. When nurtured, they blossom into beautiful and fruitful actions that become evident in our daily lives.

The battle for righteous living starts in our minds, and the Word of God is one of the most powerful tools for keeping our thoughts focused on the Lord.

If women want to succeed, stay focused, and be motivated, we must fuel our minds with truth. A truth mindset reminds us that we are never alone, and God is with us and there to help us through every part of our lives.

Motivation is one of my life's most important psychological aspects. Nearly everything I achieve is accomplished because of my motivation, which I continuously strengthen and cal...

The Bible instructs us in Proverbs 16:3 to entrust our works to the Lord, and our thoughts will be established. When we seek God's wisdom and guidance in setting our goals, we can have faith that He will help us accomplish them.

You can be sure that life will sometimes be a twisting path of “potholes” around which you must navigate. You have likely already been through phases of your life where you wondered if your luck would ever change. Then, things calmed down, and you discovered the smoother, straighter road.

Jeremiah 1:19: They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.

Regardless of where your journey leads, it is important to continue making progress toward meeting the goals you have established for yourself. During tough times, staying focused on what you want in life will keep your spirits high and bring you joy.

Isaiah 57:14: And it will be said, Build up, build up, prepare the way, Remove every...

Does it seem all you do is plan for future joyful times? Possibly you hear sayings like "live each day as if it were your last," but you have trouble taking it to heart.

Feeling joyful times can take some extra effort on your part at times. The truth is, it is your choice. We live in demanding and challenging times and must learn to schedule a moment to slow down, then enjoy living in the present.

Every woman has a unique definition of what joy means to them. Even on your busiest days, you should strive to pause and remember what is essential in your life, then live your life in harmony with your priorities.

The Joy Of Everyday Things

We can get joy right here in the lives we now lead. While going out and experiencing new and exciting things is fun, it is always good to start where we are. There are things to be thankful for and opportunities for joy in routine settings.

Think about these things in your pursuit of joy and fulfillment:

1. Spending quality time wit...

Millions of women are in the world, with millions of tasks they must get done daily. But you are only one person. You cannot do it all. So prioritize what gets done and what gets pushed to the next day or delegated to someone.

1. Examine your day’s to-do list and begin with an essential item on your list.

My colleague Karen Stally calls this eating your frog. There is a book by Brian Tracey titled Eat That Frog. Wendy Cole does workshops where she hands out chocolate frogs. 

A frog is your biggest, most important task. It is the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you do not do something about it first. It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your results at this moment.

There is a psychological reason you want to do it this way. When you do the critical projects first and complete them, it gives you a burst of feel-good hormones, and it makes you feel more energized and more like tackling other items on your list.

Eating the frog requir...

One of the most empowering things women do for our children is to teach them to be independent and to be able to make decisions and take actions on their own. This independence will raise their self-esteem and enable them to handle any situation confidently.

Here are eight effective and fun ways to help your child become more independent.

1. Enlist your child’s help. Tell them that you have observed that there are things they can do on their own that you have been doing for them. Then ask for their support in allowing you to let them carry out those activities. This makes it seem like they are helping you change, not the other way around. It also fosters cooperation.
2. Look for occasions to create more independence. Make a list of things you believe your child could do independently. Then have the child select which ones they feel they would like to do. This empowers them to make decisions independently and try to do more things without your help.
3. Do not try to hand over all the...

When we are little girls, it seems all we can think about is growing up and becoming independent adults—being independent means being in charge of your own life and making your own decisions. But as you grow, you might tend to become a bit fearful of becoming an adult. These fears are common, and nearly everyone has felt them at some time or another in their lives.

There are five aspects of this fear of adulthood and independence.

1. You are breaking away from parents and other relationships that have been comforting and secure. You may feel that things have changed and can never go back to the way things were. This is a normal and healthy change as you build your own identity as an adult and decide where your life leads. New relationships will form as you find people you have things in common with, and old relationships may fall away as you move in a new and different direction.
2. The experience of leaving childhood comfort is a powerful pull to stick with the “fantasy” over the
...

Women should all strive for healthy independence in our lives because it gives us many other freedoms that collectively can create a successful, fulfilling life.

Here are four of those freedoms and how they can affect your life:

1. External Influences - Becoming free from external influences allows you to make your own decisions and happily own the outcomes. When you have healthy self-esteem, you will rely on yourself for decisions and choices. You will not look externally for validation, and you will not constantly second-guess yourself. You will have an intelligent basis for your preferences, and you will not bend to culture, society, religion, or background. You will be able to think for yourself in all situations.
2. Internal Reactions - You are not emotionally reactive when free from internal reactions. You have reasoned reactions to situations rather than knee-jerk emotional reactions. You think about things. You weigh options, benefits, and drawbacks. You educate yourself
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Your ego considers independence very important. And your ego has a precise definition of independence - doing things your way without help from anyone else and liking it. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you consider it, the way ego wants things done is rarely how things happen in real life.

But that does not prevent the ego from rearing its ugly head and causing many problems.

When you meet someone who sparks your desire and heart, your ego feels incredibly threatened. After all, this would not feel so good if you were complete and whole on your own, right? So, ego puts up a fight when things are going great and lies to you about why you are feeling so happy.

Maybe it shows you that you are weak if you depend on someone this much. Or it means that if you were truly independent, you would not need the company of another. You might begin believing that you are codependent when really, you are just in love!

The ego has many tricks up its sleeve for ke...

Independence is a skill that not every woman possesses at birth. Of course, everyone has to become somewhat independent as they grow up towards adulthood, but it is far easier for some to accept their independence than others. Evading independence as an adult creates problems in many different areas of your life, especially as you enter into professional and personal interactions.

Learn to:

• be your own strongest supporter – vital to success in any area of life.

It can be challenging for some women to realize they are responsible for any life occurrences—choices made shape your life. Your decisions develop your direction. Being practical about this is beneficial and necessary. When you know you can rely on and take total care of yourself, you can accomplish anything.

• stand on our own two feet – although trust is not always detrimental.

It is healthy to be able to trust and rely on others. What you should not do is leave your potential for joy in someone else’s h...