Hi, Reader!
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For those of you who have been following me for some time, you may know of my story of losing my dream home (and pretty much everything else) during the time of the housing crash. At first I was paralyzed. It was everything just to make myself get out of bed. It took some time but I did manage to rebuild my life and move forward. No matter what situation has derailed your life - divorce, loss of a loved one, empty-nesting, bankruptcy, etc. here are some of my tips to help you to begin to move forward and rebuild your life.

1. Allow yourself to grieve. It is essential to acknowledge and allow yourself to grieve after experiencing a big loss. Whether it is the loss of a loved one, a job, a relationship, or a dream, it is normal to feel a range of emotions such as sadness, anger, and frustration. Give yourself time to process these emotions and work through them. I remember sobbing uncontrollably on the floor of my empty walk-in closet after I had packed my clothing into the moving boxes.
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​2. Believe that everything happens for a reason. Nothing has meaning unless YOU give it a meaning so choose to take an empowering approach to that belief rather than a victim approach. In my case, I felt that I needed to learn to be grateful for what I DID have. I had not been a very grateful person in the past.
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​3. Stay in the moment. You are probably fine in this very moment. Staying in the moment helps us to appreciate the here and now, instead of worrying about the past or the future. When you're not in a worry state, you can think more clearly.

4. Take just one step forward at a time. Sometimes just managing to get out of bed and get dressed (or not) is a big deal. Do what you can to just take one more step forward than you did the day before, no matter how little those steps are.
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That's it for now!
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XoXo Shelley
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