Self-love..

“Every generation likes to think they’re improving upon the last, that progress is inevitable, that the future holds less misery and suffering than the past. But the truth is, some things never change. History has a way of repeating itself. It’s just most people don’t live long enough to see it happen.”

They say one small act can change everything. You can be the change for all generations to come. If perhaps we each showed ourselves more self-love, and self-responsibility, we would truly see what a powerful tool we can obtain. Loving yourself is a powerful force to enact change. Unexpected and painful things happen, and often we just become frustrated by them. Our life takes an unexpected turn, something we didn’t hope for initially, and we lose all self-love. We tell ourselves that we didn’t want this, it’s not fair, and we convince ourselves that this isn’t leading us anywhere. Because our lives turn upside, we turn on ourselves. We ignore all guidance at this time, and most of the time, it is that guidance that we need to get us through this experience. But if we love ourselves through this storm, block, turn, twist, we can hear our heart, and it will surely lead us. We have to keep loving ourselves until we can act on what our heart tells us. We must find the courage to use this powerful force  for change. You must love yourself, so that you can stay on the trustworthy path, no matter what life brings. One small step, can change not only your world, but those around you.

To Judge And Be Judged

“In order to get rid of your slippers, you have to admit they are yours, and if you do, then they will get rid of themselves…The key to your happiness is to own your slippers, own who you are, own your family, own the talents you have, and own the ones you don’t. If you keep saying your slippers aren’t yours, then you’ll die searching, you’ll die bitter, always feeling you were promised more. Not only our actions, but also our omissions, become our destiny.”  -Abraham Verghese

This quote rather intrigued me because I don’t know of many people who can completely “own” who they are. I find that there are far more people who would rather judge instead of reflecting their own energy inwards. Everybody can be judged for something they did, but if we spend all our energy focusing on that, then we’ll waste all our time. I found myself from time to time dividing the world into good and bad, right and wrong, and I thought by doing this, I would steer myself in a direction away from the bad and wrong. But I find now that I just placed myself into the judging category, when in fact it was not my job to do so. It was almost a fear, and being afraid to just love who I am, and own that I am who I am, and it doesn’t matter who I come in contact with. When I judge others, I am also judging myself. Judging limits us and hold us back. You need to set yourself free, and others as well. You have to learn to look inward and be in love with yourself, where you are right now, where you have already been, and who you are. Own your slipper, and embrace the inner beauty of your inner self.

Define yourself!

Life is a rollercoaster, that sometimes we feel like we are sitting in the teacups spinning and want to get off! We run into people daily, strangers, family, friends, and sometimes they are not at their best moments, and can make comments, which have no meaning, just out of frustration. We can’t let these comments hinder our mood, or even give thought to them! They can’t define us! Only you have the power to define yourself! You want to be strong, tell yourself every single day, that you are strong! Anything you put your mind to, you can do! You haven’t walked in everyone’s shoes, and problems that seem small to you, may not be so small to them. . Everyone struggles with something in this life, and although they may have a painted smile on, you really never know what’s happening inside of them. So be kind to one another, because this also defines your character. Stop telling yourself you can’t do this, or you can’t run a marathon, and start telling yourself, YES I CAN!  Start telling the world, you are here to stay, and show them! Happy Monday ALL!

Getting Unstuck…

The feeling of “stuck” is something which most of us face daily. Stuck in a job we dislike, stuck in a relationship, stuck in a financial situation, stuck in a way of living, stuck with a bad medical history/report, or stuck with a bad self image. We wake up every morning with this weight already on our shoulders, and some how we manage to plaster on a smile, but really what else can we do? Although you may feel stuck, and the solution seems very far away, there is something you can do. You can wake up every morning, and be thankful you have a job to go to, a paycheck to collect, or although you may not be completely healthy, you still have another day to find a solution. We can’t pause our lives, we can’t rewind, and we can’t fast forward to see if we make the right decisions. All we can do is wake up, and have right now. Sometimes you just have to embrace the chaos, plaster that smile on, and look at yourself in the mirror and just say ” This is going to be a GREAT day.” Choose this day to get yourself “unstuck”, not by changing any of your situations, but by changing your approach. Be thankful, and choose a positive mind set. You will find that even in chaos, greatness lies ahead. Continue to push yourself to that better self image, to a better stronger, more powerful, YOU!

Self Love

I find myself often times being my hardest critic, ignoring the fact that I really should be my number one fan. How often I get discouraged with myself for not pushing myself harder, for not completing a task on time, or for simply not giving myself the best. Sometimes though, you need to quit fighting to be or go somewhere else. You can only just be the best you can be, right now, with what you have. Every day should be a celebration of you, because you have another day to inspire, to live, to love. You have another day to journey in finding a better you. Another day to looking at yourself in the mirror and say “hey looking good, that hard work is paying off.” Just appreciate yourself, and work hard for yourself, because in the end you want to leave an impression. I for one, want to be inspiration. Coming across this Joel Osteen quote, I want it to leave it off with you to reflect on and enjoy!

“When nobody else celebrates you, learn to celebrate yourself. When you nobody else compliments you, compliment yourself. It’s not up to other people to keep you encouraged. It’s up to you. It should come from the inside.”

 Happy Monday everyone!

Faith…

As I listen to Joel Osteen this morning, something inside me sparked. He said “You must make a decision that you are going to move on. It wont happen automatically. You will have to rise up and say, ‘I don’t care how hard this is, I don’t care how disappointed I am, I’m not going to let this get the best of me. I’m moving on with my life.” I not only thought of all the struggles I have been dealt in the past few weeks, but I thought about how much attention I’ve given them. Instead of seeing each day, as a baby step in the right direction, I chose to feed my struggles, by constantly saying how bad everything was. By feeding it, I feel I made the problems grow bigger and bigger, instead of having some faith, and just saying “all is well.” Not every day is going to be perfect, and everyone has complaints, but if we focus all our energy into the negativity, it consumes us. We must find strength, and faith to guide us in these hard times, so we will make our way past this storm, into the sunlight. Something bigger and better always comes after these struggles. Dare to be different, go against the grain, just demand, “all is well!” Don’t be moved by the circumstance, but stand tall! Keep pushing yourself to a better you! 

Balance…

We all search for balance in our lives. Balance in relationships, in friendships, in work, and in family. This idea has always been curious to me, because I feel no matter how hard we strive, balance is an impossibility to accomplish. It is a nice idea, but it’s not reality. Some weeks our personal lives consume every bit of our energy that we forget to balance our social lives, or the piles of work we have. Other weeks, our relationships, or work life require more of our time, and often people think it can be put on the back burner. So how do we balance a plate full? Do we divide our time up, or is it impossible to have it all? For me, it’s all about what is your top priority. First and for most that should be YOU! You cannot entertain or help anyone if you don’t care for you. All the other priorities are individualized. Work, of course is a necessity, but some of my other priorities would out weigh it. Can a balance be achieved? Once you dig deep down, and see what truly is important to you, I think its possible to have some sort of balance. Of course the scale is going to be outweighed from time to time, but if you make it your priority, nothing will get in your way, no excuses necessary. Just make sure you look at for you first. It is your number duty and priority. Wake up and push yourself to your limit!

Time…

Time is a funny thing.. Everyone says they are never going to get this or that done in time, or they want to be 30 and be in a certain place. But with changes and curve balls thrown at us everyday, how do we stay on track? And what if you are not guaranteed tomorrow? What would you do differently? I have suffered with up and down health conditions for over ten years, and was finally diagnosed with Lyme Disease, a year and half ago. I never thought I would have an answer, and I don’t feel I spent ten years wasting away time, but instead every day I woke up with determination to be “normal.” Time for me now, has a different meaning. I not only have learned to appreciate every single moment I am given, but I appreciate more simplistic things, like being able to get out of bed in morning, and having a great workout. More importantly, time has given me the opportunity to really appreciate and show the ones I hold near and dear to me, how much they mean to me. I find simple ways, to show them now, not tomorrow, next week, or in the future. You can sit here and plan and plan your life away, but if you don’t turn your head and look around, it will all disappear. Look down at your watch, and watch the minutes tick away, or get up and go spread your light! I am sure someone out there could use it! Happy Wednesday, workout hard, smile, laugh, and look up! Something better is on it’s way!!!! Be You Always!! 

Better days. . .

Right now before you bat your eye lashes one more time, you sit here wishing and hoping that when you close your eyes,all of the days struggles and frustrations will disappear. You hope that you will dream of something grand and that it will come true. Close those eyes now. See it coming true, wake up in the morning and live your dreams. Live everything you hope for. Live for you, for your happiness. Your happiness makes up you. Now I close my eyes, forgetting the past day, and staring at a plain black slab that’s waiting to be colored. Paint a rainbow, your choices are endless. And remember, you’ll always come back to this plain black slab every night, so there’s always another possibility. Just wait, and hope for a better day. 

“Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.  Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!”

Mental Clarity

Some find it hard to let go of what’s on their mind even in the company of friends and on going conversations. You can feel them thinking, and pressuring themselves. I myself am guilty of this, and when I am so involved, I take myself to my place of mental clarity. It is a quaint private park, with a beautiful view of the beach. Something so soothing about it, that time just literally stops. I have always come to this place to write, to relax, and just to breathe. Last year, the gym became my second mental clarity place. I get lost in the struggle to keep up on treadmill, and the music streaming into my ears. Sometimes I can almost just see myself in the gym alone, and be there in that moment. Today, I hope that on the start of a new week, you find time to find a moment of mental clarity. Take another step on to finding a better you!!! Enjoy the moments of today, of now! We only get them once! Post your places of mental clarity! Hope you exercised with me today, even if it was only ten minutes. Always remember, I am here and so proud of you!