"Don't let a bad day turn into a day life."- Pastor Brain Bullock. Those words used to sound simple, but now they feel like a real guide. I used to let one difficult moment spill into the next. I used to carry more than what belonged to me. But I am learning that self love is not just soft comfort. It is also choosing not to live inside yesterday. It is reminding myself that I am allowed to heal, to pause, and to begin again. It is reminding myself that I deserve joy even on the days when I feel unsure.
This January I feel myself growing into a deeper understanding of who I am. I am learning to protect my peace without guilt. I am learning to speak to myself with the same kindness I give to others. I am learning that commitment starts with how I show up for me. Real love, even the love I share with someone special, grows stronger when I nurture the love I have for my own life and my own spirit.
As the year begins, I am choosing to honor my growth. I am choosing confidence over doubt and rest over exhaustion. I am choosing to believe in the woman I am becoming. This month feels like a reminder that my first home is within myself. And I am finally learning to fill that home with grace, patience, and love that does not fade.

​Written with love and devotion from Chay Walters, Executive Administrator.  

I stayed calm.
I spoke up for myself without losing myself.
Because regardless of how someone speaks to me, I will not become what hurt me.
What I know:

• A title doesn’t make a leader.
• If someone can disrespect you publicly, they never respected you privately.
• Never again will I allow anyone to talk to me like that.
• I am my own advocate, and I must protect my peace.
• I can stand up for myself without letting go of my composure or my character.

An apology may never come; and honestly, it’s probably too late to matter now.

But my growth is not too late.
And that’s what I choose to focus on.
I’m committed to improving me first.
To healing what needs healing.
To strengthening what needs strengthening.
To walking forward with integrity, confidence, and the peace I deserve.

This is the work I bring into A Motivating Love - encouraging women (and myself) to stand tall, speak truth, and rise above the moments meant to diminish them.

​I don’t need an apology to move forward.
I need the lesson — and I’ve learned it.
💛 Growth starts with me.
And I’m choosing it every day.

A Sharpened Focus on Impact and Inclusivity
While A Motivating Love’s services have always been holistic, the new messaging clarifies the organization’s scale and vision:
New Permanent Mission:
A Motivating Love is a high-impact movement dedicated to empowering women by building diverse, resilient communities that secure their emotional, mental, and personal well-being.
New Long-Term Vision:
To become a nationally recognized movement redefining emotional wellness and community healing, creating a culture where love, accountability, and connection are everyday tools for living.
 
"This is not a rebrand; it is a declaration of intentional growth designed to secure a more equitable future for all," said, Daphne Anderson, Founder & Executive Director. "We have always been the safe space reminding women, #YouAreNotAlone. Now, we are ensuring our programs and supportive ecosystems are scaled and replicated to meet the immense need for empowerment and healing across the nation."
 
Scaling Through Community and Replicable Programs
AML’s strategy for achieving this national reach is focused on:

• Holistic Support: Continuing to offer comprehensive resources for emotional, mental, and personal growth that addresses the whole person.
• Intended Diversity: Actively building connections with diverse individuals, organizations, and allies of all backgrounds and genders who are committed to female empowerment and community healing.
• High-Impact Promise: Ensuring every person feels seen, supported, and whole, reminding them that healing doesn't stop when the tears do.

 
The organization’s focus for the upcoming year is on Commitment, with the next annual theme set to be "Journey to the Next Level," reflecting a dedication to advancing personal and professional achievement. A Motivating Love is excited to invite new partners and supporters to join this strategic phase of growth and impact.
 
About A Motivating Love:
A Motivating Love (AML) is a high-impact, female-focused organization that builds strong emotional foundations for women and families. Through its support groups, educational programs, and community events, AML works to redefine emotional wellness and lead the #ActivatingPurpose movement.
 
Contact:  DaNischa Taylor, Marketing Director 

When we live from a place of gratitude, we give ourselves permission to heal. It becomes a daily reminder that there is still goodness in our stories — and that growth is happening, even in quiet, unseen ways.




Simple Ways to Practice Gratitude Every Day

1. Start a Gratitude Journal – Write down three things you’re thankful for each morning.
   
2. Express It – Tell someone how much they mean to you.
   
3. Pause and Reflect – Take a moment to breathe and appreciate your growth.
   
4. Serve Others – Acts of kindness remind us that healing multiplies when shared.
   
   

Small acts of gratitude create ripples of healing. When we choose to notice what’s good, we begin to shift how we see the world — and ourselves.

Commitment: AML’s Heart for This Season
A Motivating Love’s 2025–2026 theme — Commitment — reminds us that gratitude and commitment are part of every journey toward wholeness. Through love, support, and shared stories, we continue to empower one another to rise and renew.
Gratitude is the bridge that connects where we are with where we’re going. It allows us to see beauty in the process and hope in the becoming.

Join the Movement of Gratitude
As we celebrate National Gratitude Month, we invite you to share your own moments of thankfulness with us.

Tag @AMotivatingLove and use #Commitment to inspire others to reflect, heal, and grow together.
Together, we can make November not just a month of gratitude — but a lifestyle of healing, growth, and love.

Written with love and devotion from Jenny McCauley, Community Ambassador. ​

Why Self-Improvement Begins with Healing​
​
Let’s be honest: most self-improvement content focuses on productivity, goal-setting, and doing more. But real, lasting personal development begins with healing. At AML, we believe that healing is the foundation of growth. Before we can bloom, we have to tend to our roots.

Healing-centered self-improvement includes:
- Letting go of guilt and past shame
- Practicing forgiveness (especially toward yourself)
- Setting emotional boundaries
- Surrounding yourself with support for women who get it

Healing is where true women’s empowerment begins.

Four Self-Improvement Practices That Foster Healing & Growth
This month, choose healing. Choose growth. Choose you. Here are 4 simple yet powerful ways to start:

1. Start a Healing Journal
Use your journal to track triggers, emotions, affirmations, and moments of gratitude. Journaling improves mental clarity and emotional health.

2. Choose One Consistent Self-Care Ritual
Self-care isn’t selfish—it’s survival. Whether it’s a quiet walk, guided meditation, or a nourishing meal, commit to showing up for yourself.

3. Say No Without Guilt
Boundaries are a form of self-respect. Healing means learning to say “no” to what depletes you and “yes” to what restores you.

4. Connect with a Supportive Sisterhood
​No woman heals alone. A Motivating Love is a judgment-free space where women grow, heal, and thrive—together.

A Motivating Love:
Your Safe Space for Healing & Growth

As part of our 2025–2026 mission, we’re offering empowering spaces for emotional healing, personal development, and authentic connection. This year, you’ll experience:
- Healing Circles
- Empowerment Workshops
- Growth Coaching & Mentorship
- Events that Uplift & Inspire

We see you. We celebrate you. And we walk beside you.

Ready to Grow with Us?
​
Self-Improvement Month is more than a calendar date—it’s an invitation to evolve. You deserve joy, peace, and purpose. Let’s begin this journey together.

🔗 Join Our Email Community
📅 View Upcoming Events
📲 Follow AML on Facebook

"difficult," or becoming isolated. This is especially true when the harm comes from someone in authority. When a title becomes a shield, power can become a weapon — used to intimidate, manipulate, and control without consequence.
We often tell people to "speak up," but what happens when doing so feels like stepping into a firing line? The risk is high, and too often, the system is built to protect titles rather than people.

The Unseen Pattern
Sometimes the language isn’t explicit — it’s the undertone, the timing, the isolation. It’s calculated and quiet. These behaviors often go unreported, not because they don’t exist, but because they’re designed to stay beneath the surface. But when multiple people — across different departments — begin sharing similar experiences, a pattern emerges. And just because no one’s documented it publicly doesn’t mean no one’s paying attention.
Predators don’t always need to touch you to cause harm. And they don’t always look the same. They can be male or female. Supervisor or colleague. All they need is unchecked power, a title, and the belief that no one will challenge them.

Allyship as Action
When someone trusts you enough to say, "This made me uncomfortable" — that’s a sacred responsibility. Speaking up on someone’s behalf isn’t just advocacy — it’s love in action. It’s saying, "I see you. I believe you. And I’ll stand with you while you find your voice." Sometimes, that is the first brick in a new foundation.
And it’s not just one person or one department. Others have felt it too — that same tone, that same discomfort. The pattern is quiet, but it’s real. And just because it hasn’t been reported, doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened.
Some individuals have turned to those they trust. Not because they want to start something, but because they need someone to see it, name it, and protect them while they gather the strength to protect themselves. If you're one of those people — in my circle or beyond — I've got you. I’ll speak for you until you’re ready. 

The Pillar of Foundation
At AML, Foundation means creating emotionally safe spaces. It means doing what’s right, even when it’s uncomfortable. It’s the kind of love that holds people up when systems fail them. Whether it’s in our homes, our communities, or our workplaces — love should never be silent in the face of harm.
We don’t just commit to love when it’s easy. We commit to it when it costs us something. And in that space, love becomes our strongest foundation.

Love Commits to Safety
To those feeling like their voice won’t be heard — you are not imagining it. You are not overreacting. You are not alone.
And to those with the strength, position, or platform to speak up: your voice may be the reason someone else finally feels safe enough to use theirs.
​
Love doesn’t look away.
It leans in.
It speaks up.
It builds the foundation others can stand on.
#YouAreNotAlone

Written by Daphne Anderson
Executive Director, A Motivating Love
Inspired by a real 2025 workplace experience, shared with permission.

By the time I walked into that restaurant for my meeting, my emotional plate was already overflowing:

• My integrity had been attacked at work. Again.
• My department has no AC or ventilation. It’s 82 degrees inside, in Texas, with five fans running and leadership doing nothing.
• Four colleagues had dropped heavy emotional loads on me in the past few days.
• A friend was in a car accident and is shutting down. I want to help, but I’m trying not to overstep.
• My family is under attack.
• My knee is swelling again.
• Finances feel … funny.

And then, the meeting itself had already been a pivot. First location — unavailable. Second — 20-minute wait. This third one? Just “available.” I didn’t research it.

When I came back from the restroom, I opened the menu expecting to see something safe — a simple comfort item I could say “yes” to without thinking. Instead… nothing.

No chicken nuggets. No tenders. No mental “anchor” I could cling to.
And that’s when the crack started.
​
Not because of the menu. But because the menu was the last straw holding up the whole, teetering stack of my week.

The Internal War
In my head, I kept saying, “YOU GOT THIS. YOU GOOD. Just a little longer.”

I glanced at my watch, my phone, my iPad — pretending I was reviewing meeting notes when in reality, I was counting minutes and holding on.
Part of me wanted to scream, cry, and walk out. But the other part said, Hold it together for her. Hold it together for the people around you. No one here knows you. You’re not safe. You have no backup. No ally.

The Physical Battle
It felt like a charley horse that never quite knotted. My shoulders locked. I cracked every knuckle in my hands over and over. My right eye twitched. My throat was dry and, oddly, I craved Sprite — something I never drink — because water wasn’t enough. I wanted the bite of carbonation to ground me.

A small pounding started in my head, but thankfully, it never fully hit.
When my meal came, the chicken was too big to cut, the salad untouched, the fries too salty. I brought it home. In the moment, eating wasn’t an option.

The Aftermath
I made it through the meeting. She left for her next appointment, never knowing how close I was to cracking.

When I got home, my husband asked me a simple question, and I barely responded. He asked again, and I snapped: “Give me a moment. I’m overwhelmed.” I went upstairs, sat in silence for 20 minutes, then came back down to explain.

Two hours later, my body finally started to let go. But in my mind, I was still replaying it, playing the should’ve/would’ve game.

The Truth for Every “Strong One”
That day, I realized something: RELAX. RELEASE. RELATE. goes for us too. We are not immune to the very human moments we help others through.

Society isn’t equipped to handle emotional outbursts in a positive way — especially from leaders, and even more so from Black women. So we hold it in. We protect our reputations. We “KEEP IT TOGETHER.”
​
But I’m making a commitment to a better me.
If this ever happens again, especially in public, I will speak up. Even something as small as telling the person I’m with, “I need a 5-minute break” can give me the space to breathe and reset.
​
That day in the restaurant, I was my own safe space. And I survived it. But I also carried the cost.

So, to every strong one reading this:
You deserve your moments too.
You don’t have to earn them.
You don’t have to apologize for them.
And you don’t have to have them alone.

Do not feel guilty to:

• say no
• take a day for yourself
• spend time alone
• close your door with a Do Not Disturb sign on it
• have a special meal just for you
• escape
• put yourself first

Never feel guilty for saving yourself before saving someone else. This is the rule on an airplane in an emergency. Then why can this be a rule for you in your life? It is not selfish; it is necessary so you can be the best for yourself, so you can be the best for others.
Commit to You!

👭 Share with someone who’s in a season of rebuilding and tell them #YouAreNotAlone

Thank you to our own Creative Operations Director, Taylor Moseley, for sharing. 

Submitted by Cheneda Samuel, Programs Director