As we approach the weekend, let make sure to schedule some time for self-care. I am a guilty as anyone when it comes to using the weekend to getting to chores we were too busy for duringthe week. We must remember in order to get the most productive version of ourselves, it requires maintenance.
If this still isn’t making sense to you, perhaps this analogywill help. It is like driving your car and insisting you cannot spend the time or expense for an oil change. Sooner or later, your car will break down and force you to stop. At that point it will take a lot longer than an oil change and be a lot more expensive.
Give yourself a little self-care this weekend. Whether that is a quiet walk in nature or a lively coffee with friends. Think of it as an oil change for your mind, body and spirit.
Do you want a fun activity that will change the world? Try this one – empower and encourage other individuals. Will this really change the world? To answer that question, we need look no further than our own life. When someone encourages you in whatever endeavor you are pursuing how does that affect your effort and results? Are you likely to persist more or give up quicker? Does it help you visualize a positive outcome? It matters little what the endeavor may be. It could be fitness, a healthier diet, starting your own business. Empowering and encouraging others works the same.
Here is a little extra incentive to offer support to others. When you do, it gives you a hit of dopamine. That is the feel good chemical in our brains. By encouraging and empowering others, it helps to motivate and increase our mood. In addition, those wonderful folks we assist will be more likely to do the same for us in the future. It is an investment that has compound returns.
We looked at some practical applications for uplifting others. Here is a more altruistic reasons. It makes the world a better place for all of us. Who wouldn’t want a more positive world? Who wouldn’t want to help people feel the permission to believe in themselves. I would love to hear your stories of uplifting others, or when someone uplifted you. Feel free to leave them in the comments below.
This quote pretty much explains itself, but let us take a little deeper dive into it. So many of us are trying to be the best at something. That is good. Improvement in one’s life is a virtue. What we often fail to understand, is that being the most authentic version of ourselves will put us in our own unique category. In addition, if we truly want to be the best, we need to feel free to be ourselves.
Being ourselves should be one of the easiest things we do. Unfortunately, it is not. In a world that is pushing you to conform, being yourself can be viewed as an act of rebellion. It is easier to not ‘ruffle any feathers’ and do what is expected of us. That way everyone is happy, right? Wrong. We are not happy. When the world is full of people who do not feel free to be themselves, and are frustrated with the person they feel they have to be, bad things can happen. In the best case, they do not treat people as nice as they could. They also do not bring as much joy as they could, because they are not happy with themselves.
This is why it is so important to surround ourselves with people who love us for who we, while encouraging us to become better versions of ourselves. You may wish to be like that stunning actress or talented ball player. Do you know what they could never be? You! It is you the world needs. You are the only person who can be you. It is that you who might be needed to inspire, encourage or motivate someone. They might only respond to your voice, to who you are. Trust me when I tell you that the best thing you can become is who you truly are.
What things do you do to encourage yourself when you feel down? What things have you seen others do to encourage themselves? It is important to have a list of ways to encourage yourself because we don’t always have a cheerleader close by when we need one. Share the ways in which you encourage yourself in the comments below so we can all get some new ideas!
I find it interesting that two things can be viewed so differently. Both our bodies and our souls are ours forever. Yet, one you must look at as if you will live forever and the other as if you will die tomorrow. What does this mean? Well, looking after our body we must act as if we will live forever. Why? The longer we look ahead, the better we will take care of our bodies in the future. 90% of disease is caused by diet and lifestyle. Think of that. 90% of everything that goes wrong with our health is mostly our fault. We didn’t eat the best. Maybe we did not take care of our physical fitness. In the moment, skipping the gym seemed like a good idea for our body. Years down the road, however, it came back to haunt us.
What about this soul business? Acting as if we will die tomorrow? If you read the last post about the value of time, I think you might get a glimpse as to why this is important. When I was told in 2 months I would have open-heart surgery, I thought about the legacy I would leave behind. Not the adventures I didn’t go on or the possessions I did not own. When I realized I could die in 60 days, I looked over at the woman I love and worried that she would never understand the depth of my feelings for her. I looked at this website and worried about the people I had yet to reach, encourage and inspire. When faced with the real prospect of death, it was things in my soul that I worried about.
Here is the funny thing. You do not need to be facing a surgery. There are many crazy ways in which our time here could come to a sudden and dramatic end. There was even a show called 1000 Ways to Die. It highlighted, if that is the right term, all the crazy ways people have checked out. That means we should tell those we love them how we feel now. We should try to reach and inspire as many souls as we can. Even that is only our friends and family. Does that mean we should just go crazy and live it up? Not exactly. We could end up living to be 100 years old or older. If we spent decades abusing our bodies, wouldn’t that suck? Stuck for years in a body that is constantly breaking down. Follow the advice from Augustine above. “Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever; and take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow.”
All of us here know the importance of gratitude. It can keep you in the vibration of having enough and feeling… well.. grateful. It also can help you attract what you desire quickly and efficiently.
Staying in gratitude can be a bit tricky. Especially when life does not go according to plan. There have been multiple times I’ve went to Starbucks and they haven’t had coffee. Can you imagine? The biggest coffee chain in the world, and no coffee. I’ve been on my way to work and had my exhaust ripped off by a pile of ice. You wake up to discover your allergies didn’t feel like staying at home today.
What are all these situations? First world problems. What do I mean? I can afford to go to a coffee shop and get a cup of coffee. Hell, I have access to clean water to make coffee. Even the the exhaust fix was expensive, I have a car and the job I was going to. I livewhere there is allergy medicine. Often the world gives us these challenges to remind us how good we have it most of the time. If you think your situation is bad, look around,someone always has it worse.
Too many of us are concerned with being perfect. This could be in any field. Perfect parent, perfect car sales person or perfect best-selling author. What we would be better off focusing on is continually improving.
How about you? In what area are you striving for perfection? Are there ways in which you could simply improve and get better?
“I got this!” Let that be our mantra today. Just three words to remind us that things are not as serious as they may seem. That despite how dire the circumstances may seem, we can overcome them with determination mixed with a little faith.
Whatever the challenge may be, look it straight in the eye and say, “I got this!” Notice the exclamation point at the end of the mantra. This is not one you are going to want to say meekly. Whether it is in your head, under your breath, or at the top of your lungs, say it with some passion and belief!
How many times have you doubted yourself on the ability to make it through a situation? How many times have you actually made it through? Here’s a hint, you’re reading this so you are still here. That means you have made it through 100% of the situations you have faced in life up to this point.
Today, and throughout the week, when facing a tough situation declare these three words, “I got this!” Notice I said declare. Not mention, whisper or say questioningly. Nope. Declare and know that you have made it through100% of the things life has thrown at you. Whatever you are facing is just one more thing, that despite how tough it may look, will not bring you down!
I would love to hear everyone’s definition of what makes their life a masterpiece. There is, of course, no right or wrong answer. Each one of us, much like works of art, are special in their own way.
How about you? What makes your life a masterpiece? Each day we can add to that masterpiece in small and unique ways.
Do you have people in your life that treat you harshly and you cannot figure out why? Let me give you two fine examples from my own life. At my day job, I do my best to bring joy and show appreciation to everyone. There is a couple I work with who seem bent on bringing drama into the work place. We looked at the best way to deal with these people last post. The funny thing is that initially, only the man worked there and we got along great. When he lady started there, everything changed. They make up lies about me to the boss. They even will spend extra energy to do things they feel make my job more difficult. This is not only sad and petty, but a complete waste of energy on their part. Not only do I not waste my time or energy on doing anything to make their workday miserable, I honestly never give them a thought. Unless, of course, it will help me come up with an example for a blog.
Another fun example is this blog. Recently, I shared it on a local social media site. I am in over 200 countries around the world, but it is always good to take care of your own neighborhood. Most of the responses were positive, but like in any crowd, there were a few detractors. It started with a gentleman who accused me on telling him what to think. Informing him that is not what this site is about, he told me that I was an online influencer making money off people for doing nothing. I informed him my site is completely free and is just for leaving the world a better place than I found it. He called me a liar.
What makes these people so cynical and miserable? I do not know their stories, but I am sure there is one. Somewhere they must have picked up on the idea that life is a negative experience. As to why that anger comes out directed at me? To me, that is not really a big deal. It serves two very important functions. First, it reminds me of the need to put positivity out into the world. Second, if they are focused on me, for that time they are not directing their misery at someone else. I am grateful for the example as to what it can be like if you do not keep a positive outlook as well. These folks, despite their best efforts, have given me no less than three things to be grateful for. When you do your best to be positive and bring light to the world, know there will be others who are offended by that. Perhaps they do not like seeing others happy when they are not. Maybe they are jealous that you have found the secret to an amazing life? Whatever the cause, do not take it personal. Send them some good vibes and move on. It is not worth your energy.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 