Internally Grateful Weekly Newsletter, Volume 8: Bring Out the Best in You

Action for the week:

This will be a rather painless activity. Those are the best kind. Right? This is going to make you feel good for all the right reasons. It won't take long but the after effects will be permanent. So make sure you do it!

What do you admire most about yourself? 

Just one trait...yes, you can think of at least one. Perhaps it is your kind way with people, or your ability to make people laugh. Maybe it is your positive nature or willingness to help others. Take a moment to determine what you admire most about yourself.

Write it down in the middle of a piece of paper and circle it. Own that wonderful trait as you circle it with enthusiasm. Feel good about it!

Clear your head and keep the feel-good feeling flowing. 

Next to the circle with your admirable trait, write down a situation or person that you are having difficulties with, keep your good mood going, just jot it down. Now circle what you just wrote while keeping your natural high.

Look at what you just wrote on the page. See how you can join the two together. How can you use your admirable trait to resolve the issue you are concerned about?

Allow yourself to focus on what you can do and that you certainly can do it well. Allow yourself to see what you maybe did not see before. Surrender to making it work out on some level for you, simply because you can.

The solution may be much simpler than you imagined it could be. Very often, all that we need to do is have faith in our abilities and keep the good feelings going regardless of what is going on around us; stay on our path of self-empowerment.

Thought for the week:

The best in us is a reflection of our higher selves. Expressing this part of ourselves is truly magnificent.

Learn to Love Yourself

When you think about it objectively with an open mind, does it really make sense that we refrain from loving ourselves?

But sadly, this is often what happens:

We neglect ourselves and we judge ourselves.
We fail to see how important we are in life.
We do not embrace our strengths and blow our weaknesses out of proportion.
We hurt ourselves on many levels.

If you are doing such things, stop. Work at it every day until you do stop.
Learn to love yourself and make peace a daily practice.
Doesn't that seem like a better way to live your life?

Refreshing Your Mind

Do you ever feel like your stagnant? Do you ever feel bored and uninspired? Have you ever felt like life is just a repetition of the day before...and the day before that?

Time to refresh your mind. It doesn't matter what the trigger is or if it is just a mood swing...you can help yourself feel better and get inspired.

Here are some suggestions to get you going in the other direction:

• Turn on some music and dance.
• Go for a brisk walk.
• Do some stretching exercises.
• Go pet a cute puppy or kitty.
• Spend some time with a child.
• Write a note to someone you love.
• Light a candle with your favorite scent.
• Bake some chocolate chip cookies.
• Talk to a dear friend.
• Do something that will make you feel good.

What are you going to do to refresh your mind and feel better?

Give Yourself Permission (content from Internally Grateful Newsletter: Volume 7)

Give yourself permission to be better than you imagine yourself to be.

Yes, it may seem like a strange concept, but it is a very effective one. I have done it several times this week with great results.

It helps on multiple levels. First of all, we have a tendency to limit ourselves. We think that we are not capable of many things...many, many things. Secondly, we have fears and you understand how limiting they can be. Thirdly, we have neglected to see how truly wonderful we are and acknowledge the gifts and strengths that we possess.

With this in mind, think about a situation that is giving you some difficulties this week.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• When I look at this situation, how am I limiting myself?

• Do I think that I am not able to move through this situation because I am limiting what I can do to move forward?

• Is fear limiting my perceptions and misleading me?

• What gifts do I have that will enable me to make this better than I imagine?

• What strengths do I have that will change what I perceive?

The truth is that we limit ourselves. We unknowingly set low standards for ourselves, but deep inside we know that we can do much more. Sometimes this is the very reason for our distress.

Develope a renewed perspective and eliminate some of your distress...

• Think bigger! Much BIGGER!
• Understand that you deserve better.
• Give yourself permission to be better than you imagine yourself to be.

Lastly, write a note to yourself and give yourself permission to do your best and more; feel amazing about your gifts and strengths.

  

Thought for the week:

I give myself permission to be the best that I can be, to be greater than I imagine myself to be.

Storylines

Storylines are the stories that incessantly play in our heads. It is the inner dialog that tell us what is and why. This dialog gives meaning to what is going on around us and predicts what the future will bring. Storylines define our lives. Our storylines repeatedly play in our heads and lead our thinking. Storylines are not necessarily true. Very often, our storylines are destructive to our well-being.

Start paying attention to the stories that play in your head. What are you telling yourself about the person you are dealing with or the situation at hand? Is the voice leading you toward misery and despair, or toward peace and joy? Is the story elevating you or making you feel bad?

If the story in your head is making you miserable then you might want to stop listening to that story. It is just a construct of your mind and it is a very limited perspective. For one, it is probably only a few sentences long. Life is really much bigger than that and perpetuating a few sentences in your head that make you feel bad just really doesn't make sense. A better option would be to shut the story down. Why recycle the same thoughts over and over when all they do is disempower you?

Reason two, storylines are based on the past. Today is a new day and you will miss opportunities to make your life better. There are many possible solutions and if you are too busy believing that little story in your head, you miss out on many opportunities.

Reason three, it is just a story, that is all. You are the author of your life so make it a good one!

Make Fear Powerless

This week I have an activity that will help you see how some of your fears may not be based in reality. In fact, your fears may even contradict what you know to be true about yourself. This activity will help you see how you can finally put a stop to some of your fears.

This activity should take about 15 - 20 minutes.

• You will need a pen and a piece of paper. Go find a quite area where you will not be disturbed. Be sure to turn off your cell phone.

•  Draw a line across the top of the page and then one down the middle of the page so that you have two columns.

• Write My Fears as a heading on the left side of the page.

• Write My Strengths as a heading on the right side of the page.

• Next, make a list under each heading. Write your fears on the left side and your strengths on right side.

When I did this I was absolutely amazed at what I learned out about myself. My fears directly contradicted my strengths. In other words, what I feared had no basis in reality.

I knew that I had certain strengths that I genuinely valued. With that in mind, if there was a fear related to a perceived strength then it was very easy for me to let it go and make it powerless; I could easily stop hanging on to any fears associated with my known strengths.

What did you learn about yourself? You can share it on my blog if you like.

See Your Perfection

Today boasts of perfection. The sky is glowing. It is a bright, gorgeous shade of light cobalt blue, not one cloud in sight. The leaves are falling, dancing to the ground. Some of the trees are now a beautiful shade of orange and gold, even a few shades of burnt red are making their way into the fall landscape. The crunch of the leaves under my feet makes me feel all happy inside, although I really have no idea why. Maybe I just love the sound. As I walk on the wooded path, sunlight passes through the trees and sparkles on the forest floor and pavement below. It is like pure magic. I feel like I am experiencing a bit of heaven...absolute perfection. The decaying leaves and plants are glorious, too.

Then a thought springs forth from my visually intoxicated brain...we can see perfection in nature, but not in ourselves...we are part of creation just like the trees, sky and decaying plants. "How sad...I must work on that being a bigger part of my reality," I think to myself.

Join me...see how you are a creation of perfection.

The Power of Distraction

As I am sure you have noticed, we (as a society and individually) tend to spend far too much time focusing on what is not all that important in life. We repeatedly fight the same inner battles day after day, yet fail to deepen an awareness of ourselves and heal. The material word distracts us from taking the time to enjoy life on a more meaningful level, and we fail to spend adequate time developing a spiritual connection. The material world we live in tells us what matters most, and we believe it to some degree.

We are distracted by many powerful forces each and every day. We rush around and try to do as much as we can thinking that is the best way to move through the day. We see power in money and knowledge, in controlling and acquiring.

Tragic world events grab our attention. Our dysfunctional relatives and friends suck us into their drama. A toxic work environment depletes our energy and make us miserable. We are regularly bombarded with negativity and told what are priorities should be.

Ironically, we insist that we are exhausting all our avenues to create a better life for ourselves, yet this may not really be the case. We are distracted by our surroundings and may do very little to improve our life. We unknowingly become victims instead of empowered individuals.   

This week get tuned into a higher frequency. Quit going in so many directions. Get centered—clear your head of unnecessary debris. Spend time reflecting on life and taking time to just sit back and feel grateful for the miracles that surround you each and every day. Use the power of distraction to distract you away from the material world, negativity and what isn’t all that important in life.