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Getting out of bed in the morning.

We've all snoozed and ignored responsibility to gain that little bit of extra (often irrelevant and potentially detrimental) sleep. We've also all had a reason to get out of bed immediately and start our days with excitement or enjoyment. I want you to find that reason in every day, wake up to do what makes you happy! Even if it's only for a few minutes, you're awake now, you feel good and the new day is yours! Try it, you might well be surprised how uplifting this can be, especially when you've got a hard day ahead.

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The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (via motivateyourselfeachandeveryday)

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Be sure to enjoy yourself every day.

Do yourself a favour and make sure to take the time to actively appreciate the little things you enjoy, especially in the morning, be it a cup of tea, cigarette, sitting outside in the sun for 5 minutes relaxing, all of the above! Whatever it is that you can do that doesn’t take a lot of time but allows you to just appreciate your life and everything/everyone you have in it before you start your day. Exercises like this make for vastly more potential to have a good day, so go on! Enjoy yourself!

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Don't let other peoples expectations drive your decisions.

Don't let the expectations of society affect the way you live your life. If the world is telling you that it's not OK to marry someone you met 4 months ago, that it's not OK to dress differently or talk about sensitive topics, that it's not OK to love the person you do. Do it anyway! Be true to yourself always! Life is once, life is for you, life is all about being happy and making the most of what you have; to live how you want and to acomplish the goals you create for yourself along the way. Life is about enjoying the small things that bring a cheeky grin to your face; things that make you smile uncontrollably like an idiot. Don't let the views and opinions of others cloud your life. You'll find yourself living within bounds that prevent you from truly being yourself and unlocking your real potential which is a huge factor when it comes to living a fulfilling and happy life. Be you, be confident in you, help people to understand that what you want is okay and if they can't understand it then that's fine, there's a reason we're all different. Just don't let your different become a bad thing. Wear your personality with pride! And most importantly, love yourself!!

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Getting out of that negative zone.

If you’re stuck in a situation that you don’t want to be in, such as a bad job or a university course that isn’t really for you and you’re going in every day, miserable, hoping for the time to come that your misery will end and you can finally be happy then you’re doing it wrong.

You need to work out why you dont want to be in this situation, once you’ve worked that out the next step is simple, you need to make important changes so as to either view your situation in a positive light or cast it aside altogether for something that you know will be right for you. Confidence in yourself is key at this point. Know that deep down inside you actually do understand what excites you, what makes you happy, what entertains you, what makes you feel all lovely inside. For some this is harder to come to terms with than others, but it���s there and sometimes you need to make drastic life changes for them to surface properly. So do it! Take that leap of faith and change your life for the better. Worst case scenario you’re still not happy but at least youre trying. Making an effort for yourself is important, you can’t expect the world to make an effort for you and eventually you will find the answer.

Being confident that you’re at least heading in the right direction makes everyday life or that job you don’t like vastly more enjoyable because you know whats to come and you can look forward to reaping the rewards of your journey. The other thing to remember is that if you’re happy in the knowledge that you’re taking the right steps to being happy in the future then you’ll do a better job in whatever you’re doing at present which will be a mood lifter in itself. Flow on effect people! Be pro-active! Be pro-you.

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8 Steps to Truly Love Yourself -- and Why It's the Most Selfless Thing You Can Do

There seems to be a very beautiful trend taking shape that I am completely devoted to: It is starting to be popular to “be loving.” Over the last few years, health, spiritual practices and taking care of mother earth are starting to be considered a hip thing – rather than a strange “hippie” thing. I am delighted by how this is reflected in the overall consciousness of our planet: We are starting to truly care about ourselves. When I started studying yoga about ten years ago the concept of ahimsa – non-harming – was still rather unknown in mainstream society. Meditation, yoga, vegetarianism, conscious consumerism, recycling, all those trends have really only been taking root in the last few years. Of course there are issues, and they need to be addressed. But what matters is the shift that we see happening on a global scale.

What does this tell us about the individuals who make up our societies? It simply means we are starting to genuinely love ourselves more. I know we still have some work to do, but we are on the way. And as on every path, the important thing is: Keep going! Keep loving yourself! Keep pampering yourself and noticing! Keep noticing what is happening around you and how our society and the way we treat our earth is changing. Why? Because taking care of yourself, loving yourself, living your purpose will lift the entire planet.

1. Serve the world by living your purpose What is your soul’s deepest desire? What is your biggest dream for your own life? Chances are that it’s not a 9-5 desk job. However, when first pondering this question, your dreams might seem selfish. Start by seeking out those people who celebrate you being big. In most modern societies, this isn’t a common behavior (at least not yet) and you’ll need a bit of creativity to make it work and yes, there will be a few lonely moments. But the feeling of your soul smiling is priceless. And once you experienced this feeling, it is hard to ever go back. Consider this powerful quote by Marianne Williamson:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

2. Empower people by being confident

It ties in with the above point. It’s easier to reduce yourself to a being worthy of compassion. People will feel your misery and will try to help you. But on the contrary, how inspiring is it to be around somebody who is genuinely confident? It really makes you feel that you can do it too, right?

3. Stop the gossip. Stop the complaints.

Complaining is a negative energy that locks us into a certain way of thinking. When we look for the negative in others we zoom in on exactly that – the negative surrounding us. Once we shift our radar towards what inspires us in others we are instead looking for connection, growth, love, joy – short, uplifting energies. And those are exactly the qualities we will then be able to nurture in our own lives. It takes time and practice to achieve this shift. The road might be bumpy and you might have to redirect some conversations when you first start practicing. But it will get easier and easier, until it turns from a practice into your second nature!

4. Balance of gentleness and firmness

I struggled with anorexia in my teenage years. All through my 20s I learned to nurture my body, and myself, slowly learning to be gentle with myself. My studies of self-development, yoga and Vedanta gave me an increased feeling of being complete in myself. Yet, there was still that nagging negative voice that would keep coming up, a voice that felt so much more powerful than my other, gentle voice. It was only when my best friend and coach Kat Dawes from Nowism recommended to try out a fierce voice whenever I judged myself that I achieved the crucial shift. This practice really helped me to eliminate that last bit I just didn’t quite seem to get rid of. Now when my inner voice criticizes myself I know how to be fierce and redirect my thoughts with firmness.

The best thing you can do for yourself is finding that balance for yourself: Find out when you need to give yourself a kick, but also when you need to give yourself a big hug and a bubble bath.

5. Keep promises made to yourself

When you make a promise to yourself KEEP IT! Honor your own word to yourself, whether that is to take a break, go on a holiday, go to a yoga class, eat more healthily, or go to bed early. Imagine what your friend would say if you’d let her down as many times as you let down yourself. To make things easier, find yourself an “accountability buddy.” Tell each other the things you have planned to nurture yourself – and check in with each other once a week to see how you are doing.

6. Nourish and celebrate yourself

Having been completely absorbed in the yogic world for years, I noticed a tendency to discard materialism as something entirely negative. However, I acknowledged to myself how much I love being a girl sometimes, including all those little pretty things such as make-up, clothes and spa treatments. But instead of drawing negative energy out of this “attachment,” I achieved a huge internal shift: I started treating those things as a personal act of celebrating my femininity, as an act of gratitude for having been given a healthy body. It’s a ceremony to give thanks for the blessings in my life and for having received this life force, a force that needs to be nurtured. You need to be grateful for receiving it and honor it by living your highest purpose. Therefore, allow yourself to nourish yourself – no matter if that means going to the gym, getting a pedicure or buying new shoes – do it with a huge smile on your face.

Living in Bali has been a huge inspiration for me in that regard – the women in Bali dress up in the most beautiful ways for their ceremonies to go to the temples or to give daily offerings. And then they change into leggings and flip-flops to go to work. It is such a sweet symbol of dressing up - for the divine, not to impress others. I went through an interesting process of reconciling my identity of being a designer with the role of a business woman. I had to truly embrace the fact that my designs are an expression of the divine energy inside me and that sharing this energy with the world is my gift to uplift others. We need to embrace the fact that we are material bodies living in a material world. Make your life a celebration of the wonderful world around you, every moment, every day!

7. Have integrity with the people who surround you

One of my favorite books is The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. The first agreement is, “Be impeccable with your word.” There is such depth in this agreement. If we make a promise to ourselves to always be true to ourselves we start having quality control in the most genuine way. We speak with love. There are certain attitudes and behaviors we don’t accept. And by doing so, we actually serve humanity. There are so many people out there – it is totally fine to not open up to all of them. But we can find ways to be respectful and friendly in all situations. However, if somebody weighs you down by their continuous negativity it’s fine to set boundaries. It is just as much of an inspiration to watch somebody who has healthy boundaries, as it is to watch somebody to be all-embracing love. Trust your intuition. Trust your gut.

8. Step by step towards your soul’s alignment – don’t ever think you have more time

Do it now! Take a little step at a time – but don’t put it off. Take baby steps in the right direction, even if it’s just a little today, and a little tomorrow. Honored to be walking right there with you!

SOURCE

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Do not hope for things you know for certain are possible. Believe in them. Hope leaves margin for doubt, and doubt is a murderer of dreams.

Sean Arkless

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Here’s one for those struggling to find love or couples with issues.

A relationship is an amazing thing, they come in all shapes and sizes, with varying levels of commitment, compassion and inspiration. However one thing I want to stress is honesty. Being honest with people even before you love and care about them is the single most important thing you can do to earn your partner/friends trust and respect. When I fall in love, I don’t want to fall in love with what you think I want to see and hear. I want to fall in love with you as you are, for this to happen we need total, mutual honesty. No hiding behind a visage of false sincerity or sugar coated ideals. Be yourself, and I’ll be me. Sure we might not click because there’s things that we don’t like about each other, but wouldn’t that be better than breaking up 6 years and 2 kids down the track because we accepted or ignored things about each other out of desperation to feel loved. Trust me when I say that there’s someone for everyone. The issue that most people have who struggle with relationships is that they feel they have to pretend to be something that they’re not to woo or impress or to maintain the ‘spark’. If it’s not you, it ain’t right, and you’ll never find your soul mate. Love and friendship is not about compromise, it’s about mutual benefit, enjoyment, passion, desire and adventure. Love, especially the close, intimate kind of love you find in a long term relationship should always be unconditional. Surround yourself with people who love you for who you are, don’t be afraid to be yourself, because if you’re not honest with yourself and others you’ll always be wondering why you haven’t found ‘your people’ and the answer will be staring you in the face.

Give it a go! Be yourself! Don’t hold back! Life is complicated enough as it is without adding complication or labels to the simple, easy, beautiful stuff like love and happiness.

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To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are.

(via tttesselate)

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Keep going!

If any of you are feeling unmotivated or miserable about something you don't believe you can achieve, know that you're doing your best with the tools you have and the mindset you're in. If we fail to achieve our goals we still succeed in a way because we learn valuable life lessons about what drives us and what we really want to be doing with our lives so we can move on to something we are actually passionate about. If you're passionate about something and still afraid of failure then do it anyway, even if you feel completely out of your depth. What's the worst that could happen? Learn a lesson? Prepare yourself better for the future?? Succeed?!?! Life goes on right? Giving up achieves nothing unless you're absolutely certain the situation is not for you. So onwards and upwards and have a wonderful day!  

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A failure is not always a mistake. It may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.

B.F Skinner

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What is normal??

What is normal? I dislike the word. Mostly because it feels judgmental and restrictive..like a social perception that forms the basis for many negative thoughts and feelings. What is ‘normal’ to you or I may be a completely foreign concept to others which is why it upsets me so much to see people frowned upon or shunned for nothing more than the simple, sweet beauty of being ones-self. We are all individual and all beautiful in our own way and it seems such a shame to be held back by a lack of acceptance based on labels, politics or a general lack of open mind from the people around us. Rather than thinking like: “That person isn’t normal, therefore there’s a good chance they’ll be a problem for me and my beliefs. I mean how don’t they understand how important and meaningful my words are?” Shouldn’t we aim more for thoughts such as: “That’s a fellow human being who’s feelings are just as important as my own and I accept that they are an individual, and even though we may not get along, that’s okay because we can respect the fact that we are only human and there’s no reason to be upset or angry just because they think or act differently to me.”

Thinking like this achieves two very positive things.

1. We don’t limit ourselves from the potential enjoyment of someone’s company just because of our initial impression of them based on one conversation or even their appearance.

2. We avoid creating negative thoughts and feelings within people who are trying to express themselves but perhaps lack total inner confidence for fear of being judged or mocked.

Food for thought?

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Every day is an adventure.

Routine is comfortable and often very important, especially in times of great stress, but we should never close our eyes to the endless possibilities and excitement held within a ‘normal’ day. I implore you all to open your eyes, take in your surroundings and truly experience everything different in your normal day routine that you wouldn’t have noticed or been able to appreciate if you weren’t paying attention. There’s beauty and excitement to be found in even the smallest of conversations or items of clothing, the smile of on the face of a stranger, the cat staring down at you ominously from the top of a building...things that you would never have seen if you had your nose embedded in your Facebook news feed on your way to work. Give it a go! You might surprise yourself how much you can enjoy a day just by appreciating the little things. Every day is different, every day is a new adventure!!