change Archives - The Swirl World

It’s Time For Black Women To Think Differently!

June 18, 2016 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway Leave a Comment

Let’s face it: in respect to some specific aspects of life, we can each stand to think differently.

Sometimes, just sometimes, our viewpoints may be a little outdated . . . even antiquated.

And my goodness, when we get on the subject of meeting people, much less dating, a mental reset may be in order.

To Smile Or Not To Smile?

In this “Unscripted” podcast episode, Co-Host Adrienne London Leach addresses the question: “To smile, or not to smile?”

She covers some of the reactions she encountered from European men on a recent trip to Scotland and the UK. Based on her observations and experiences, Adrienne provides 3 easy tips Black women can apply if they are interested in meeting more people men.

Adrienne also shares an incident she and her best friend Regina experienced when Regina decided to employ the 3 tips.

Listen up. – and then make a conscious decision to think differently.

Make a conscious decision to think differently.

Apply the 3 tips.

(In other words, act differently).

Meet more quality men.

Repeat!

If you can’t see the podcast player, click here or here.

If you can’t see the Sound Cloud player, click here. You can also head over and listen to the show on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Spreaker or PlayerFM.

Shout Out!

Do you attend Sunday School?

If you’re a Sunday School attendee (and even if you aren’t!) we’d like you to check out Waynell Henson of ThatSundaySchoolGirl.com.

Head on over to her website and Facebook page now – we’ll be featuring her on a podcast in the near future!

Want to be a guest on The Swirl World Podcast, or know someone who should?

Send an email to Podcast@TheSwirlWorld.com.

Be sure to “Like” The Swirl World on Facebook and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

You can also follow us on Sound Cloud and listen to the show on Stitcher Radio. You can also hear us on PlayerFM!

Copyright ©2015 The Swirl World, LLC, Michelle Matthews Calloway, ASwirlGirl™, The Swirl World™, The Swirl World Podcast™, The Swirl World Inspiration Daily™, Swirl Nation™, All rights reserved. Feature photo property of The Swirl World, LLC. Photo of Waynell Henson used with permission.

#174| Determined To Be The Change

June 23, 2015 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 2 Comments

I strive to be a person who lights a candle instead of cursing the darkness.

Seeing “the darkness” is easy – it’s all around us.

Thankfully, many of us strive to be forces of change in this dark world.

The desire to see – no, to effect – positive change is strong within us.

Yes, we get angry, and sometimes we even get discouraged.

Nevertheless, we continue to move forward, and we keep pushing.

We expect to see change, so we’re determined to be the change we want to see.

And you know what? We won’t stop until we see changes.

The Swirl World Team is committed to sharing 365 days of inspiration in 2015. Our goal is to help you stay motivated and inspired by bringing you positive, uplifting images and corresponding thoughts.

We’d love to FEATURE YOU in one of our Inspiration Daily posts! If you’d like to be featured, please send a nice, clear photo to InspirationDaily@TheSwirlWorld.com.

#109| Be Still And Know

April 19, 2015 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway Leave a Comment

I have some major changes coming up in my life, and I’m taking time now for reflecting and meditating on the next steps.

Changes or no, I believe reflection is good for the mind and spirit.

Today, take some time from the busyness of your day, get by yourself, and reflect.

Clear the clamor in your head, and wait for your thoughts to become quieted.

Breathe in . . . breathe out.

Enjoy the stillness.

Gain clarity.

You can’t know, until you be still – be still and know.

Once you know, you will have the freedom to take action.

Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10 KJV

We’d love to FEATURE YOU in one of our Inspiration Daily posts! If you’d like to be featured, please send a nice, clear photo to InspirationDaily@TheSwirlWorld.com.

How To Change Your Life – Part 2

June 5, 2014 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway Leave a Comment

Stagnant? Afraid? In a rut?

In this week’s post, Mike shares the “How To” steps he used and is using to change his life.

Mike says:

Step One

First, ask for help if you need it. Here at the Swirl World we are more than happy to help you out. Michelle and Adrienne have done as much for me, and I will try my best to help anyone who asks for it.

It’s easier for a person standing on solid ground to help someone out of a swamp than you pulling yourself up by your will alone. Often the people helping you up are people just like you – they know what being trapped feels like. They know the way to get out, and accepting their help is no weakness.

Step Two

Secondly, we’ve got to be open to forgiveness. Forgiveness, not only just for those who have hurt us in the past or who may even be hurting us in the present, but also forgiveness for ourselves.

You are a human being, so you’ve made mistakes. We all do. But let’s not let the mistakes of our past crush our futures. If you keep carrying that burden, when you hit hard trials the burden is likely to pull you down further than if you had left it behind.

Focusing constantly on what you think you have done wrong and how it has brought you to your present state isn’t going to do anything to help you do things right in the future. Instead, you’ll remain stuck in the swamp.

Step Three

Make a conscious decision to move past any shame. The shame we feel because of our previous choices can even make us believe that we deserve to be stuck where we are.

It’s a vicious cycle: Shame makes you feel you deserve to be where you are, this crippling belief renders you unlikely to call out for help, and you wind up staying where you are, even when help is available – the help that will be freely given and enable you to get back on solid ground.

Do This For Me

I’d like to get you to do something real quick. Imagine all your troubles as being that same burden. All those life decisions you made, missed opportunities, fear that you’ve missed your chance, or that you’ll never be able to get where you want to be in life.

Put them all in a big, heavy pack in your mind and feel its weight on your shoulders. Pretty heavy, huh? Makes it kind of hard to move and change your direction doesn’t it?

Now imagine a hole opening up behind you, and the pack suddenly falling from your back and being swallowed up and sealed, never to hold you down again.

All your worries, troubles and misapprehension for the future has now been taken off you. That’s forgiveness.

It means we get to begin again, at any stage, and take the opportunities given to us.

Choose To Move Forward

Swirling is going to be daunting to a lot of people, and lots will feel weighed down by the things that have happened previously. Don’t let it. Take this moment to stop, consider where you are, and drop all the negativity that impedes you.

It is never too late to make a change, and you are always better off leaving it behind and choosing a better path in life. I know I have, and I invite you to join me.

Cheers,

Mike

—————————-

In Case You Missed It

Click here to view Mike’s recent appearance on an Australian national television show.

Click here to read Part One.

Got a question for Mike? Send it to us via inbox on The Swirl World’s Facebook page or by email to ASwirlGirl@TheSwirlWorld.com.

Follow Mike on Twitter @500and50 and read his blog at 500and50.com, or message him on his 500and50 Facebook page.

Mike’s Advice On How To Change Your Life – Part 1

May 28, 2014 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 2 Comments

Cottesloe Beach, Perth, Western Australia. Photo courtesy of ©John Miocevich

So last week we shared the good news that our guy Mike in Australia appeared on a national television show and experienced an epiphany that changed his life – and all because of his connections to The Swirl World.

(See what Swirling will do for you? We’re just saying.)

One of the things we find so gratifying about publishing this blog is the fact that we know we are making a difference and changing people’s lives – and we have the emails, Facebook in-boxes, letters and comments to prove it.

He’s been on a journey of personal discovery, our Mike, and he is kind enough – and humble enough, we might add – to share it with us.

He’s a jewel in more ways than one, our Mike, not only because he’s willing to share his journey but because he’s also able to articulate it – and we are the better for this personal insight.

Mike’s life has changed – shifted – in a profound way. Read Mike’s post to learn more about what’s happening as a result of the shift.

Mike says:

You might wake up one day, set to change your life and how you live it, only to find yourself worried that you’ve completely messed it up, and worse it’s too late to do anything about it.

Standing amongst the rubble of plans you had for yourself, where you thought you would be in life and who you would be with, you might wonder “How did I get here?” What’s worse is that not only does that hit you, but then the next question will be “How do I get out?!?”

I’ve often felt like that.

I was bullied quite a lot during my school years, and it left an indelible mark on me, so much that I don’t think I have lived life as full as I could have.

Breaking out of that cage has been more freeing than anything I have experienced before. But now, even though I have done so, the world can still look quite daunting.

If you feel the same, and if, like me, you’re starting out again at any stage in life, you might find it hard to see a way out.

You carry a burden of what you think are mistakes and failures, and believe that life is going to be really hard to sort out from here.

But that’s not true.

One of the great works of literature is John Bunyan’s allegorical masterpiece, “Pilgrim’s Progress.” After deciding to change his life, the protagonist Christian, burdened by the weight of the choices he has made in life, sets out to escape the City of Destruction to travel to the Celestial City.

Two town members try to get him to change his mind, Obstinate and Pliable.

Christian chooses to continue on, with only Pliable joining him.

It’s unsurprising that the first challenge they meet is the Slough of Despond (aka the Swamp of Despair). Christian begins to sink under the weight of his burden, and while Pliable manages to get out, he abandons Christian to his fate. Struggling to free himself, Christian is finally pulled from the swamp by Help, who had heard his cries.

We often feel exactly the same way. We start moving in a direction we want to travel, but can quickly find ourselves falling into despair that the choices we had made previously will stop us from achieving happiness, and we’ll fall before finding the what we want and need in our life.

So, how do we get rid of this?

I’m glad you asked.

Next week, Mike shares two steps that were the integral factors in allowing him to change his life. If you missed the show, click here to watch.

Got a question for Mike? Send it to us via inbox on The Swirl World’s Facebook page or by email to ASwirlGirl@TheSwirlWorld.com.

Follow Mike on Twitter @500and50 and read his blog at 500and50.com, or message him on his 500and50 Facebook page.

How To Change Your Life – And End Up On a National Television Show!

May 20, 2014 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 3 Comments

Good grief! We’ve been on pins and needles – sitting on this news for about a month now and biting our nails in anticipation of sharing it:

Guess what???

Our man Mike In Australia (Michael Miocevich) was on a national television show – talking about SWIRLING!!!

*Jumping up and down*

We were certainly excited that Mike – OUR Mike – received this national coverage and attention.

Seems the producer planned to do a show on Swirling In Australia (later entitled “Dating Race”). She conducted some online searches to find men in Australia who preferred Black women.

Well, we’ve been doing “Monday’s With Mike” for some months now, so guess who she found???

Yeppers!

Out of ALL the men in Australia, she found OUR Mike.

OUR. Mike!

Woot Woot!

One of the things we strive to do in The Swirl World is build relationships. We practice good blogging netiquette and we believe in crediting our sources, both here and on our Facebook page.

We don’t bash –preferring instead to uplift and support.

Particularly special to us is the fact that in some small way, we are making a difference and changing lives – one person at a time.

But enough of the self-congratulations. We’ll let Mike tell you about his experience.

This excerpt is Part 1 – we have more to come!

Mike says:

“So, about a month ago I get a message from Elise Potaka, producer for SBS TV Australia (one of two public national broadcasters, which is bigger than you might think here in Oz), to talk to her about interracial dating, my history of it, ideas and opinions, etc.

Not a problem, I thought; I am more than happy to help anyone who is interested.

Turns out they were looking to do a TV show about it, and got all kinds of information from me about the Swirling community and my life as a Swirler.

Then came the hard question: They wanted to fly me out to the show to be in the audience!

Now this is the part that shocked me. I’ve never been given any kind of opportunity like this before.

To be flown across the country and put up at a hotel and then be on a national TV show?

Unimaginable. So I was nervous. And very hesitant.

You see, for a lot of my life I’ve felt like an outsider – to friends, family, people I meet.

I often don’t feel comfortable around them. I was very much worried about how I might come across for the show.

But then I had to follow the logic of the situation.

I had been invited on because I have been making steps towards a better life. I had taken the chance when I first contacted The Swirl World via Facebook.

I’d done so again when they got me to do a bit of a write-up about myself. Then again when they had me do “Monday’s with Mike,” and again when encouraging me to start my own writing blog.

After that much love and encouragement, I couldn’t let them down.

I couldn’t let myself down.

So I took the chance. And I am so thankful I did! I now feel more comfortable about who I am in my life than I ever have. I stood up for who I am and what I believe – and I felt stronger for it.

I have a lot of big plans I want to make happen, and a lot of changes I want to make in my life before I get to where I want to be, Taking this step has brought a lot of that closer.

So if I have one piece of advice to offer it’s this – If you see an opportunity and you’re hesitant because you worry what others might think or say, don’t be.

Take the leap of faith and go for it, because the rewards in confidence and self-esteem will likely outweigh any physical things you get from it.

Each step you take in the right direction will open new doors and new opportunities. Trust in yourself and step through them. When you look back, you’ll be amazed at the difference it has made!

Cheers,

Mike

To watch the show (and gain an interesting perspective on interracial dating in Australia – plus some delicious accents) – click here.

Mike networked with some of the people on the show and we hope to have some future posts featuring the other guests.

Whew! We can’t wait to see what happens with Mike’s continuing metamorphosis.

Stay tuned for more!

Got a question for Michael Miocevich? Send it to us via inbox on The Swirl World’s Facebook page or by email to ASwirlGirl@TheSwirlWorld.com.

Follow Mike on Twitter @500and50 and read his blog at 500and50.com, or message him on his 500and50 Facebook page.

The Price Of Pain

July 3, 2013 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 3 Comments

“People will pay for acute pain and passion, but they will not pay to alleviate chronic pain.”

~Danny Iny

What Danny is saying is that people are willing to “pay” if paying is what it takes to make an effective change in their lives.

Let’s face it: Unless your pain is acute, you’re probably not going to do a blessed thing about the needs in your life.

So what’s your Price of Pain?

What are you willing to pay – whether in money, time, inconvenience, moving out of a comfort zone, taking a risk or getting up off your seat of do-nothing?

I dare you to challenge yourself. I dare you to do something different. I dare you to take a step; to begin the process of actually making something happen.

The quality of your life is something you should never be willing to discount.

I dare you to pay the price.

Join in the Fray: What price are you willing to pay to end your pain?

I’m blogging every day in the month of July in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo Challenge. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!

Just Had To Share This . . . .

April 25, 2013 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 4 Comments

Saw this on a friend’s Facebook page and just had to share:

Join in the Fray: I’m not only in the process, I’m seeing results. How about you?

I’m blogging every day in the month of April in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo Challenge. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!

How to Successfully Navigate Change

November 8, 2012 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 6 Comments

Ever had things not go your way? I think it’s safe to say that today a large number of people would nod their heads and say, “Heck yeah!”

Well, as much as politics is on everyone’s mind, I’m really not speaking of politics. I’m simply speaking of this thing called life – where fortunes can be made and lost overnight, love can wax and wane, and a person can be here today and gone tomorrow.

Life – and time – brings about changes, and depending on the hand we are dealt in any given situation, we will view these changes as positive or negative. Lord knows I’ve experienced some exhilarating highs and crushing lows in my life. Despite the lows, I’m a firm believer in the importance of maintaining a positive outlook.

Wanna navigate change positively and effectively? Take note of what you’re building.

Join in the Fray: How do you respond when change hits your life?

I’m blogging every day in the month of November as a participant in NaBloPoMo. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment!

It’s Time For Black Women To Think Differently!

To Smile Or Not To Smile?

Make a conscious decision to think differently.

Meet more quality men.

Shout Out!

Like this:

#109| Be Still And Know

Like this:

How To Change Your Life – Part 2

Step One

Step Two

Step Three

Do This For Me

Choose To Move Forward

In Case You Missed It

Like this:

Mike’s Advice On How To Change Your Life – Part 1

Like this:

How To Change Your Life – And End Up On a National Television Show!

Like this:

The Price Of Pain

Like this:

Just Had To Share This . . . .

Like this:

How to Successfully Navigate Change

Like this:

To Smile Or Not To Smile?

Make a conscious decision to think differently.

Meet more quality men.

Shout Out!

Be Sociable! Share this:

Like this:

Be Sociable! Share this:

Like this:

Be Sociable! Share this:

Like this:

Step One

Step Two

Step Three

Do This For Me

Choose To Move Forward

In Case You Missed It

Be Sociable! Share this:

Like this:

Be Sociable! Share this:

Like this:

Be Sociable! Share this:

Like this:

Be Sociable! Share this:

Like this:

Be Sociable! Share this:

Like this:

Be Sociable! Share this:

Like this:

Are You In?

Thank you!