inspiration – Cynthia D. Griffin

Appreciation, better life, empowerment, inspiration, inspirational, self-improvement

The Best Way to Have a Good Feeling Life

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Cynthia D. Griffin

Over the past few years, I have been making it a priority to have a good feeling life. My long dedication has paid off in wonderful ways, because most of my days now are pleasant, peaceful, and just plain good. The absolute best way I have found to maintain a good feeling life is through appreciation.

Being thankful and/or grateful is similar to this. In fact, the very first positive change I made in my incredibly bad feeling life was to write down three things I was thankful for every day. Eventually, I realized my thankfulness had turned to gratitude, and now I simply call it appreciation.

The word appreciation might have a small distinction between thankfulness and gratitude, but it’s an important one, because appreciation has a far bigger good feeling attached to it (just try it and see for yourself). When I appreciate, there’s not even a tiny amount of bad feeling or obligation attached to what I’m feeling. It just feels good.

Another thing I have found is that consistency is vital to building a good feeling life. I can instantly lift any bad feelings by spending fifteen solid minutes really appreciating something or someone in my life. After that fifteen minutes, I can feel my mood lift, and as a result, the rest of my day becomes so much better. But then what about the next day? Or what if something or someone comes along and completely ruins that good feeling high? Yep, I find more things to appreciate.

The more I appreciate, the better my life gets.

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A Writer's Life, better life, better writing, creativity, inspiration, The Writer's Toolbox, writing, writing better

A New Way of Writing: The Magic of Inspired Action

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Cynthia D. Griffin

Have you ever been here? You look at your desk, and it’s piled high with unfinished projects. You also have a notebook of projects ideas you haven’t even started, but really want to. But the frustration eating at you to complete something doesn’t really give you freedom to tackle… One. More. Thing. *heavy sigh*

That’s how I used to be, until recently. Not that long ago, I realized something. I realized I had other loves other than writing. And that I worked better when I wasn’t solely focused just on writing. Instead of being stuck with one project, and only that project until it was completed, I began to mix things up.

One day, I’d work on book cover art. Another day, I might edit. And maybe a few days, I’d actually sit down to write. Some days, I even managed to do a little of everything. It’s a far cry from the old days.

I remember the days when I would work on my novel Blood Feud for weeks, months at a time, and I would not allow myself to do anything else. If I was writing, that was what I would work on, even if I didn’t feel like it. I eventually finished the book by sheer will alone, but I was exhausted and completely burned myself out of writing for a long time. Getting that book completed and published was not worth the price I paid.

Now, many writers say that’s how you get novels written. You put your butt in the seat, and you write, even if you don’t feel like it. And yes, eventually the faucet does turn on, but it feels like pulling teeth to get there. It’s damn uncomfortable, and for me, not productive considering how much time I spent just trying get myself in the mindset to write.

I have found a better way. It’s by working through inspired action. I don’t act, until I feel inspired to act. In working this way, my productivity has sky rocketed.

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blog, inspiration, inspirational, writing

A Blog on Writing and Personal Empowerment

Posted on September 7, 2019September 20, 2020 by Cynthia D. Griffin

This blog has gone through many transformations, but I feel the most recent one has been the most significant. I have spent a lot of time redesigning, revamping, and reconsidering how I want this blog to go in recent months. It took a while for me to fit the pieces together, but I am finally starting to see a picture form.

Up until a few weeks ago this blog has been me just throwing things out there that have come to me in my journey of life. For a great while it was solely dedicated to writing and writing posts. Then August of last year, I started the Speak Your Truth series because I decided I had more to say other than just writing. I think all of my actions on this blog have been leading me up to this.

It’s a coming out party for me. As I have decided I want to say more and do more. I have sat on the sidelines long enough. I want to get out there and do something. You see, just because I had a blog didn’t mean I actually did anything significant with it. It was simply a place to post ideas. But I want to start going beyond that and start engaging people. I want to be a place of not just ideas, but a place of inspiration and collaboration.

What does that mean exactly? I still don’t have all the pieces. I’m moving forward one step at a time. I want to add more online classes to offer what knowledge I have to those seeking it. I want to begin a weekly newsletter to help connect and motivate people. I want to help promote other authors and their work. I want to help inspire people to rise higher and claim their personal power.

So with all that in mind, I have changed the message behind this blog to more clearly state what it is I’m doing here. This is a blog on writing, but also a blog supporting and inspiring personal empowerment.

Writing fiction isn’t enough for me. I want to do more, be more, and give back more. I am excited in this new journey, and I hope all of you will enjoy it as I offer these new ideas and encouragement. I will close with one of my favorite quotes of all times.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” ––Mahatma Gandhi

book review, ebook, inspiration, inspirational, reading

Book Review: Digging Deep Within

Posted on August 22, 2019 by Cynthia D. Griffin

Digging Deep Within: A Story of Courage and Liberation by B.W. McKay is available at Amazon in paper back and on Kindle.

I have been picking some indie authors to read and review their books, and when this title was suggested to me I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not. It did take a few chapters for me to get into the book, but about a third of the way through, I found myself captivated by the life and circumstances of Corey Brookshire.

This book follows the story of a black man from Washington D.C. who struggles to become a success at his current job, but quickly realizes that the job of his dreams isn’t what he wanted. He does a lot of soul searching to discover more about himself and how to come to terms with some significant life events. As the story closes, Corey has to make some tough choices about his future.

I really found this story to be incredibly heart-felt and uplifting as I followed Corey through his struggles. It reminded me so much of some of my own and how I’ve tried to find ways to heal. Corey didn’t shy away from the hard stuff as he sought healing. I found that the most inspirational. It’s not easy to face the dark parts of ourselves. It’s so refreshing to see Mr. McKay tackle such a tough subject, and in doing so encouraging other people to heal themselves too.

If you are looking for an inspirational and uplifting story, this is the book for you!

inspiration, inspirational

Speak Your Truth: Chasing the Magic Bullet

Posted on August 4, 2019 by Cynthia D. Griffin

Sometimes we can’t help but hold on tight to a certain dream or idea. We cling desperately because we want change. We want more. We want out of a certain situation, but we just don’t know how to make that happen, but we dream. We make plans. A part of us believes it will never happen, but we still hope that there’s a magic bullet out there that will transform our lives into something better and grander than what we have.

Deep down we really cling to the hope that some magic bullet will appear and cut through all the crap, all the ridiculousness our lives have become and instantly make things better for us. That magic will make all the bad parts disappear or become irrelevant because our day has come, we have zipped past the problems and been catapulted into a dream come true.

We make excuses, because we have gotten so hung up on that particular idea (whatever the idea might be, it differs for everyone) to come save us so we don’t have to save ourselves. There’s not much forward motion. We are too busy waiting for that magic bullet. But one day we get tired of waiting, so we start doing something to help that dream along.

Maybe one day we wake up and it finally hits us that the magic bullet really isn’t coming, and we start to feel the pressure of doing it ourselves. The pressure builds and life just doesn’t seem fair. Others’ seem to get their magic bullet, so where is ours? Continue reading “Speak Your Truth: Chasing the Magic Bullet” →