This Is My New Mantra: “Stop Playing. Start Pushing.”

By Neysa Ellery Taylor

Blackloveandmarriage.com is a website that I visit daily. Not just because they publish my work (although that is a great reason), but because I love their mantra – “Stop playing, start pushing.” I also love the name of their company – B Intentional LLC. I love that! Everything you want can be summed up by that mantra. You want to lose weight? Stop playing, start pushing. You want to go back to college? Stop playing, start pushing. You want to write a book? Stop playing, start pushing. And if you want a happy, healthy marriage? Stop playing, start pushing.

This mantra registers with me because it removes the “woe is me” mentality. It removes “the man is holding me down” mindset. It removes the “I can’t” thought process. It moves you from someone is holding me back, to I am pushing forward. It firmly puts the ball in your court. And I love it! Having the ball in my court is stressful and a ton of responsibility, but I trust me (and God) with my plans more than any outside force. Don’t you?

I know some people who would rather go passively through life, because they believe that it is easier than taking charge. And I partially understand their point. Being the “captain of my ship” means that when my ship runs aground, that it is my fault. That scares some people. Heck, that scares me. It really does. Failure scares me. But while that fear paralyzes some folks, it spurs me forward. I know that if I want bigger and better for my life and my lineage, then I have to be bigger and better everyday.

So I am going to take the Ma’ats’ motto and make it my own… well, with a bit of a remix.

Stop playing, start pushing, keep praying.

Neysa Ellery Taylor lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, Chris, and their 4 children – Asyen, Maya, Preston, and Patrick. An Emmy-Award winning journalist, she hopes to share her passion for marriage and God through her writing. You can read more of her work at www.myriadthatisme.blogspot.com