21 Reasons to Love Yourself Exactly As You Are

April 5, 2015 by Power of Positivity

Why is it that we are so hard on ourselves? We are often quick to forgive others yet we have a hard time forgiving ourselves. The truth is we can be our worst enemy. Instead, try to love yourself!

Self-love is not about thinking you look good in your new outfit or feeling good about yourself because you just got promoted. Self-love celebrates and supports your growth through good times and bad.

One of the most important things contributing to your overall happiness is meaningful and loving relationships. And you can’t have solid relationships without love. You have probably heard the old saying, “we cannot love others if we cannot love ourselves.” Loving yourself as you are is necessary in order to give your love to others.

“If you truly loved yourself, you could never hurt another.” – Buddha

Still need convincing? Here are 21 reasons to love yourself exactly as you are.

When you love yourself …

1. You are on a constant quest to learn new things. You develop and use your mind to continue your personal growth.

2. You are brave enough to ask for and give help freely. Your compassion towards people fuels your spirit and touches many lives.

3. You can forgive, forget and move on. You have learned your lessons and use those lessons to stay in the present.

4. You are passionate about the things you do. You move throughout your day with purpose and positive energy.

5. You are flexible and open to change. You are confident in your choices and realize change is necessary to keep living life to its fullest.

6. You are optimistic. You know your approach to problem-solving will give you the strength to move through life’s challenges.

7. You are playful and spontaneous. You make joy a priority in your life and share that joy with everyone around you.

8. You are proud of the work you do. You bring the best of your mind and spirit to every project.

9. You are forward-thinking but present living. You have a vision for your future so strong you can feel it but you know you will only get there with the actions you take today.

10. You are always looking for the silver lining. You know there is something positive that comes from every negative, you just have to keep looking until you find it.

11. You are strong and courageous and always stay on the side of right. You stand up for what you believe in and lend your voice to those less fortunate.

12. You are ready for challenges. You know life isn’t perfect, and there are plenty of tests along the way. Without a doubt, you are confident that you can handle it and that it will serve you in the end.

13. You are respectful and courteous to other people and yourself. You realize there is a story behind every person and honor the people that cross your path.

14. You are accepting of other people and their challenges. You realize that judging other people only casts a shadow on yourself.

15. You are willing to ask for forgiveness. You realize you aren’t perfect and that mistakes happen, and you are willing to accept responsibility for your part.

16. You are open to love. When you love yourself, you open the doors for love to come into your life freely and without reservation.

17. You are more creative. Nothing fuels the creative spirit more than loving and accepting yourself. It gives you the freedom to nurture a wide variety of talents that might not have surfaced otherwise.

18. You don’t gossip. You realize the destructive force behind gossiping. Not only do you refuse to engage in it, but you also stand up for the people being gossiped about in an attempt to change behaviors.

19. You are engaged in your community and in causes that are important to you. You know that one of the best ways to serve yourself is to serve others.

20. You attack your problems head-on. You avoid blaming others and explaining things away. Instead, you focus on correcting your course.

21. You are motivated, and you persevere. Furthermore, you believe without a doubt your next success is just around the corner, and that is enough to keep you going until you get there.

You are a better person when you accept who you are and the journey you are on.

Unconditional acceptance doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t change or improve, it is just the realization that you are a work in progress. And you love yourself no matter what.

Loving yourself as you are has both physical and emotional benefits too. According to Psychology Today, “Self-love is important to living well. It influences who you pick for a mate, the image you project at work, and how you cope with the problems in your life. It is so important to your welfare that it is important you know how to bring more of it into your life.”

11 Things Your Soul Wants You to Learn While You’re Human

April 5, 2015 by Power of Positivity

As we all enjoy our unique human experience, we find ourselves burning the candle of life too quickly while trying to exist in society and keep up with the times. So much so, that we often forget the most important lessons we came here to learn – the experiences that our inner spirit is trying to teach us during our relatively short stay here on this beautiful planet.

“Begin to see yourself as a soul with a body, rather than a body with a soul.” – Wayne Dyer

Here are 11 Things Your Soul Wants You to Learn About the Human Experience

1 – Learn to Be Compassionate

Loving and understanding people and their journeys without holding them in judgment, is the greatest gift you can give someone and yourself.

Just accepting people for who they are and offering help when they need it, cheering them on, and, most importantly, showing respect and love have effects way beyond you and them.

It’s easy to get started by simply choosing to smile at everyone who crosses your path.

“If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

2 – Learn to Be Inquisitive

Being inquisitive is more than just asking questions; it is having a genuine curiosity about the world around you. The happiest and most successful people are those that are actively curious.

When you are inquisitive, you recognize that there is always more to learn, and you want to be in a constant state of exploration into topics that will help you grow.

3 – Learn to Be Optimistic

How you look at things has been linked to your success. A primary reason for this is because when you have a positive outlook, you are more resilient. The most essential characteristic of being human is being alive, and optimism can play an essential role in many aspects of life, including in the recovery from illness.

Multiple studies have investigated the role of optimism in people undergoing treatment for life-threatening diseases. Studies show optimistic people experienced less stress and have more of a “fighting spirit.”

If this is true for people facing possible death, think how it can affect everyday challenges.

4 – Learn to Be Mindful

Mindfulness is simply the focus of your attention on the present moment, but it is anything but simple. With chaotic schedules, multi-tasking, and an over-worked society, it is often hard to remain in the present and not get lost in the chaos that surrounds us.

Mindfulness has roots in Buddhism, but most religions and spiritual practices include some attention towards love, kindness, and appreciation for a perspective on life that is bigger than oneself.

5 – Embrace Confidence

Confidence is knowing who you are, where you are going, and the value you contribute while taking action to support your goals. Many people mistake confidence with an arrogance that stems from low self-esteem and comes from a place of not understanding your true talents.

Confidence is an essential ingredient in creating a life you love and in shaping the interactions with the people around you. Don’t hide the things you are good at and don’t be afraid to talk about your goals; doing so serves you and those around you.

6 – Learn to Love Life

Where confidence is about you, enthusiasm is about life. Enthusiasm is infectious, and people connect with you based on your passion for your work and your life.

There are few things more enjoyable than talking with someone who is enthusiastic and passionate about something.

“It is faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes life worth living.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

7 – Learn to Be Purposeful

There is a lot of talk around finding your purpose and passion, but the reality is that being human and relatable might be all the purpose you need. When you make your actions purposeful and do things that make you feel good, you are living your truth. And there is nothing more human than that.

8 – Realize Your Energetic Potential

What good is having goals, asking questions, and taking purposeful actions with confidence without the energy to act? To harness your natural energy potential, you must take care of yourself. A healthy body, mind, and heart are necessary to keep you operating at your potential.

9 – Learn to Overcome Fear

Everyone experiences fear. It is an ordinary and essential emotion. The problem is not in having fears; the problem is when you live in fear and allow fear to prevent you from achieving your potential.

“If you don’t know the nature of fear, you can’t be fearless.” ~ Pema Chödrön

10 – Learn to be Willful

Willpower is our capacity to choose what is right for us long term and not give in to immediate temptations. In short, willpower is what keeps us on the path to a happier life. Willpower is sort of like a muscle, it gets stronger with use but can get tired or injured with overuse.

Avoiding the overuse of our willpower “muscle” is why there is so much talk about small changes, small actions, and low doses of information. We want just enough to keep us moving forward but not too much that we choose to give up instead.

11 – Learn to Be Grateful

Being grateful is at the core of being human. When things get tough, it can be challenging to remain in a grateful space. We all have those moments. It is gratitude that gets us through this time and makes us even more resilient for the next challenge.

Even when it’s difficult, look for something, anything really, that you can express gratitude for and watch how your perception begins to change. Being grateful and expressing our appreciation is what makes us our best human self.

Final Thoughts on Your Human Experience

Being human comes down to exhibiting positive characteristics. It seems so simple when you write it out, but the reality is life is tough. It is our ability to come back to these rules in times of crisis that brings out the best in us.

10 Things You Can Do Now That You’ll Thank Yourself for Later

April 4, 2015 by Power of Positivity

If you looked back on your life five years from now, are you positive you would you feel satisfied?

Ask yourself this important question today, and remember that the decisions you make in the present consciously create the reality you experience down the road. If you just go through the motions and live for the weekends right now, you can always make gradual changes in order to thrive, not just survive.

By making the following simple modifications in your life, you can look back in a few years, and truly celebrate how far you came.

10 Positive Things You Can Do Now You’ll Thank Yourself for Later

1 – Live in the Present

If you don’t live in the moment, where else is there for you to live? Think about that for a second. We only have right now, not yesterday, not tomorrow, so there’s no use wishing you could go back to the past or magically transport yourself to a better future. You get to build the future you wish to see based on your thoughts and decisions right now.

“If you are depressed you are living in the past, if you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.” – Lao Tzu

2 – Be Honest

By always choosing to tell the truth, no matter how shocking or uncomfortable it might seem, you will never sacrifice your peace of mind. People have more respect for those that courageously speak the truth in a world full of disingenuity, and you will have a clear conscience and, most likely, healthier friendships as well.

Lies run rampant in corporations, governments, the media, in school textbooks, and throughout our culture in general, but you can always choose honesty over deceitfulness.

3 – Be Proactive

“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” – Benjamin Franklin

If you want to get somewhere or accomplish something, the first step is to just start. Laziness proliferates in society today, and many people sadly wish their lives away instead of actively working on them. Don’t wait until you turn 65 and collect retirement to travel the world; do it now. Don’t wait until next month to start your own business, or start an exercise regime, or eat healthier, or start meditating. The “perfect moment” you’re waiting for is actually right now, so take advantage of it. Anytime is a good time to start working on your life!

4 – Create Healthy Boundaries

This can apply to many facets of life, such as exercise, dietary choices, relationships, job, and spending habits. While it’s also important to not live life by a set of strict rules, having some sort of limits will pay off in the long run.

Maybe you choose to save money each month so you can take a long-overdue vacation, or adopt a healthier diet comprising of whole foods so you can finally run that marathon.

Boundaries just mean you have the courage to say “no” to what doesn’t work for you, and say “yes” to things that will serve your best interest in the long term.

5 – Practice Positive Affirmations.

Positive affirmations can range from statements like “I love myself unconditionally” to “I am grateful for what the universe has provided for me.” Just start replacing negative thought patterns with more uplifting thoughts like these, and you will begin to see your life transform before your eyes.

Remember, a positive life always starts with a positive mindset, so flood your brain with as many encouraging statements as possible. Keep in mind that your vibration always determines your reality, and having a higher vibration attracts better people and events into your life.

6 – Surround Yourself with Sunnier People.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn

Pay more attention to who you predominantly spend your time with. If you find that your friendships don’t add much meaning to your life, you need to become more of who you’d like to spend your time with. In other words, inspirational, drama-free people will come into your life when you focus on creating the person you want to become.

By establishing a strong foundation, you invite others into your house who will encourage you to keep building, not try to destroy all your hard work.

7 – Reduce Your Use of Social Media.

The evidence continues to mount that heavy use of social media can lead to depression, isolation, social anxiety, and laziness, among other detrimental things. Once upon a time, Facebook was used so people could keep in touch with relatives and friends, but now, many use it as a time-filler, entertainment, a distraction from boredom, or even to stalk ex-boyfriends or girlfriends. We live our lives through screens instead of through our own eyes, and it’s becoming a global epidemic.

Turn off social media for a while if you have to, and focus on living rather than reading statuses and liking pictures. Believe it or not, there are actually reports that show people can still make friends when there’s less social media, so give it a try.

Remember life in kindergarten when you went up to random kids and asked if they wanted to play hopscotch? Now, the kids have grown up and probably don’t play hopscotch anymore, but that doesn’t mean people lose their desire to make connections. You will gain something beautiful by distancing yourself from social media – your life.

8 – Reduce and Eliminate Approval-seeking Behavior.

You will realistically never make EVERY person happy, so why even attempt to? It will just waste your time and keep you further away from your own personal idea of a fulfilling life. Don’t make decisions just to appease others; choose to do something because you actually want to.

People who really love and care about you will come around eventually once they see that those decisions really enhanced your life.

9 – Spend More Time Doing.

You can spend your life wishing, or spend it doing. Ironically, most people wish they had tried new things when they look back on their lives, but that doesn’t have to be you.

Stepping out of the confines of safe and normal will allow you to experiment with life and really put yourself to the test. If you get too comfortable, you might become complacent, therefore missing possible opportunities to learn and grow. Live while you can, so you don’t have a mountain of regrets later.

10 – Let Go of Expectations.

If you have no expectations, you simply cannot be disappointed. Life often doesn’t go according to the plan you may have set, but if you refrain from planning out every little detail, you will find that life quickly becomes more enjoyable. Also, people have unpredictable behaviors, so expecting them to return a favor or reciprocate your generosity may lead to a huge letdown.

Just because you help someone through a tough time, they won’t necessarily do the same for you. Learn to give unconditionally. This way, life will never seem unfair, and you can keep a positive attitude no matter what happens.

5 Signs You’re On the Right Path

April 4, 2015 by Power of Positivity

The mysterious “right path” often talked about may not descend from the heavens paved in gold. And it probably won’t knock on your door and tell you to follow it. The signs that you’re on the right path will begin to appear when you finally discover the road you’ve been searching for all along, and that all boils down to how you feel.

You will intuitively know when you have come across your very own life path because it will simply feel right to you. If you haven’t experienced this feeling before, keep on reading as we elaborate on some common signs that you are indeed on the right path.

1. You actually want to get out of bed in the morning.

If you can’t wait to start your day and feel excited about what lies ahead, you most likely have found something important that you want to accomplish, maybe even your calling. Hitting the snooze button a few too many times may mean that you don’t really want to get up because you’d rather lie in bed than go to work or school. You don’t feel absolutely thrilled about your life, so you’d rather escape it.

One surefire sign that you have chosen a fitting path for you is that you no longer want to hide from life under your covers, you want to actively participate and savor every minute.

2. You feel at peace.

If you constantly feel stressed, nervous, unhappy, or in some sort of turmoil, you probably have chosen the wrong path for you. Life shouldn’t feel like a struggle; no other plants or animals struggle, so why should we?

Regardless of what might be happening around you, you feel calm and content with where you’re at in life. You don’t let things outside of yourself bother you anymore, because you feel at ease within. Because you have finally found balance in life, everything feels right just as it is. You don’t feel like you’re missing out on anything, and you have a strong connection to yourself and the universe, which contributes to all the good in your life.

You finally can relate to the saying: “life is good.”

3. Good things keep happening to you.

Obviously, when you tap into your higher self and discover what you came here to accomplish, life just starts to seem effortless. You meet the right people at just the right time, you go to places that enhance your spiritual growth and allow you to flourish, you become healthier, you have more abundance financially, and so on. While the right path isn’t completely devoid of obstacles, you start to notice that the good finally outweighs the bad.

Often, people who take paths not suited for them find that they seem to attract one negative thing after another, such as flaky friends, stolen bank cards, flat tires, job terminations, or anything that causes them grief and unhappiness. However, they soon find that these things happen much less frequently when they find their flow and make changes in their life to facilitate their best selves.

4. You make things happen rather than wait for them to happen.

Maybe you used to live passively, but now you have started taking control and creating your own reality. You no longer live vicariously through others or wish your life could be different somehow; you take ownership of your own destiny and realize that nothing will happen unless you make it happen.

If you want to travel, you just go without worrying too much about the details or planning everything out in advance. If you want to quit your job and start your own business, you do so without having to explain to others or wait for the “right time” to talk to your boss. You finally know what it feels like to stand up for yourself and not live by others’ standards. Consequently, you probably feel more confident now because you don’t make excuses for the circumstances in your life; you get results because you put in the effort.

5. You don’t feel trapped by society’s rules.

You know that you came to Earth as a sovereign being, perfectly capable of directing your own life and making decisions for yourself. And you don’t try to follow the crowd or fit into standards set by other people. Furthermore, you happily follow your own path even if you’re walking alone. You could care less how much money you have in the bank or if you own a house by the age of 30 or if you have a degree or not. And you know that your true worth lies in how you feel about yourself, and the contribution you make in other’s lives.

You live freely, savoring every moment of life, not living in the choking monotony that society calls living. You have created a life you enjoy living, not one devised by other people with hidden agendas. Finally, you have broken away from the pack, and have never felt happier.

7 Things to Remember When Negative Energy Surrounds You

April 2, 2015 by Power of Positivity

Negativity can affect every area of your life. Identifying negative energy and thought patterns are an important part of challenging yourself and those around you to a more realistic viewpoint. It can improve your relationships and your overall outlook on life.

Keep these things in mind when you find yourself surrounded by negative energy and use them to help you move out of the negative space.

7 Things to Keep in Mind When Negative Energy Surrounds You:

1 – Find the Source of the Negative Energy

Question your thoughts and the thoughts influencing you. Before you can take action to decrease the negativity that surrounds you, you must question the negative energy to find the source of it. Once you do that, you can begin to remove yourself from the emotion surrounding you.

Simply trying to eliminate negative energy doesn’t do much for the reason it’s present in the first place. If you don’t get to the heart of the matter it is likely to keep recurring, so keep questioning until you do.

2 – Focus on Solutions

The next logical step in questioning and understanding the negative energy around you is to focus on how to eradicate it and prevent it in the future.

Why focus on the solution?

The answer is simple: you end up receiving more of what you focus on. With that basic principle in mind, it makes sense to focus on the solution rather than the negative energy and problems associated with it.

3 – Surround Yourself with Positive People

Every day we come in contact with a variety of different people. Some of these people make us happier, and others may have the opposite effect. Who we allow to influence us is up to us and choosing to spend more time with positive people will help prevent a buildup of negative energy around us.

4 – Accept Possibility and Release Expectation

Happy people aren’t happy because bad things don’t happen to them, they are happy because they know how to handle the bad things better. Someone who is happy has similar challenges to those that are not happy. The difference is that they release expectations of what might happen, and focus to create their best possible situation – no matter whether it ends up good or bad.

Knowing that life could deal you some good cards and some bad ones, and releasing expectations makes it easier to work through situations because you are ready to accept whatever happens. The key is not to dwell in situations where negative energy surrounds you and take action right away to move back into a positive space.

5 – Show Yourself Compassion

No matter how bad things get, remember that the negative energy around you isn’t always about you. While you are responsible for the energy you create, the burden of the negative energy of others shouldn’t be carried on your shoulders.

See the importance of this distinction, because if you can separate yourself from the negative energy of others, you can focus on getting to the heart of the matter logically, without allowing the emotion to latch onto you.

6 – Focus

Sometimes when negative energy is coming at us from all directions, we have a hard time knowing what to do. It is so intense that it can paralyze us into inaction. Instead of tackling the big ball of negativity all at once, try doing one small thing. Just one.

Doing one thing will crack open space in the negative energy for the positive to begin to shine. That little bit of positive will begin to build and your motivation to do more “things” will propel you to eliminating the harmful energy.

7 – Accept It or Let It Go

With everything in our lives, whether positive or negative, we have two choices: to accept it or let it go. Accepting it means accepting the negative source to the point where you can begin to move through it. It doesn’t mean you are committed to allowing the negative energy to remain in and influence your life. Accepting it means handling the challenge and creating change.

When negative energy surrounds you, it’s obvious that change is needed. That doesn’t mean change will immediately occur or solve the problem. If the negativity persists you may see that it has become a toxic cycle that no longer serves you, and have to come to terms with letting it go.

In the end, you have to do what is right for you and your mental well-being and overall happiness. It isn’t easy to let go of things that used to matter. When they aren’t serving your highest good anymore and possibly even harming you, what choice do you have?

Become aware of the messages you are receiving throughout the day. Find the sources of negative messages and begin to eliminate them from your daily routine. Learn to recognize the type of unhealthy thinking you are most likely to encounter. Start having an inner dialogue about how to handle these situations now, before you are in the moment. Knowing how you will handle the situation before it occurs, will help you when the time comes.

Add to the discussion below: How do you keep your head clear when negative energy surrounds you?

5 Tips to Eliminate Negative Thought Patterns

April 1, 2015 by Power of Positivity

An enormous part of our toxic thoughts are our self-judgments. But to truly become more positive in our thoughts, we must begin by accepting who we are.

Wishing we were skinnier, happier, in a better job or living in a different house is a waste of energy. The energy that could be spent working on what we can improve.

The only way to be the person you want to be is to accept who you are and take actions daily to support your growth.

Use these five tips to eliminate negative thought patterns and get your mind straight.

1 – Question Your Negative Thoughts

A thought is just our way of talking to ourselves. Since our thoughts influence our lives, it is extremely important to shape our thoughts so they’re positive, encouraging and motivational.

By questioning your negative thoughts, you are looking for evidence as to their truth. If they are true, then you can begin to train your mind to stay positive. More than likely though, they are false. And it is when you prove to yourself that they are not valid, you can begin to let them go and move on.

2 – Talk to Yourself

When you are surrounded by supportive friends, you’ll often hear things like “I know you can do it” or “It’s awesome that you are doing that.” When we talk to ourselves though, it’s probable that you might hear “I’m not sure about this,” “I hope I can do it” or “What am I doing?”

Listen to the messages you’re telling yourself. Your subconscious doesn’t know the difference between a serious thought or one said as a way of not bragging.

Eventually, after hearing the same kind of statements over and over, you begin to believe them. This kind of self-talk, even if not real in your mind, will result in a decrease in self-confidence and add to a negative self-image.

If you aren’t cheering yourself on, then how can you expect others to support you? Create a few affirmations about yourself and start your morning off with a look in the mirror and a good conversation. It is amazing how saying a few kind words to yourself will change your outlook on the day.

3 – Release The Need for Approval

Our need for approval plays an important role in our thoughts. It kills our ability to think positively and prevents us from our journey. Instead, we think and act based on other people’s agendas.

The need for approval is negatively impacting our lives – we procrastinate, avoid doing important things, feel anxiety and fear, and get stuck in worry – all in the quest to gain approval.

Make the decision to stop seeking approval and trying to be someone you’re not. Stop feeling the pressure to do something you don’t believe is right for you. Stop doing things with the influence of someone else’s agenda. And finally, stop hiding how you feel.

4 – Think Bigger

It’s common to underestimate ourselves by setting small goals. In other words, we hedge our bets on success by setting goals that are attainable. This mindset is more harmful than helpful.

Pushing ourselves tests our strength and resolve and allows us to continue to grow. The world has infinite resources available, and when you think big, you begin to tap into the possibility.

Michelangelo said:

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”

Thinking big means thinking beyond what you can see, setting extremely high standards and looking at challenges in terms of opportunities instead of barriers. Thinking big means knowing anything is possible.

5 – Accept Yourself as a Work in Progress

Start embracing the fact that you and your life are a work in progress. Face it, you will never be at a place when everything is the way you want it to be, and all of your dreams came true. That’s just the way life is.

Think about it. What if everything were perfect? Wouldn’t you be a bit bored?

Sure it might be great for a period, but how would you feel if you had nothing to dream about or no goals to achieve? Just because you are a work in progress doesn’t mean you are not good enough today. It doesn’t mean your life is any less meaningful because it isn’t perfect.

Being a work in progress means you have hopes and dreams and want to do better tomorrow. If you recognize life as a work in progress, it makes it easier to accept your life as it is today knowing something better is on the horizon.

Final Thoughts on Eliminating Negative Thought Processes

The big takeaway here is that you are in control. You can choose to be positive, or you can accept the status quo. Frankly, it is easier to stay in a negative mindset than to do the work necessary to move back into a positive space. Just know, it gets easier with practice and the rewards are more than worth the effort.

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