A Better You
I believe we can always be improving ourselves and our outlooks. The only way you are going to get better or make significant changes in your life is to be proactive, be positive, and to know that you will get out of it what you put into it. Develop that can-do attitude so you can live your life fully and feel the joy and sense of accomplishment that you deserve. Last week I wrote Just Keep Improving with the first five ways to improve yourself. Here are five more ways to keep getting better:
6. Become a positive person: If you tend to get bogged down by negative thoughts, here’s what you can do. Start by interrupting your thoughts. Don’t go down that road. Then flip your thoughts around. So if you think “I will never get back in shape” you can turn that around to “I will get back in shape by spending 20 minutes per day walking and I will start today.” Another great word to remember when you need some encouragement is “yet.” Taking that same example, you might be thinking “I’m not in good shape.” When you add the word “yet” it’s a different sentence “I’m not in good shape yet.” That way you give yourself some compassion and you can begin to visualize yourself getting in shape and then actually making exercise part of your everyday life.
7. Be grateful: Gratitude is a game changer. It is one of the practices that I put into place when I wanted to dig myself out of a depression and build back my life after a long stretch of heartache. You can do it too. I like to write it out in my journal. The experts say that writing things down offers freedom of expression as opposed to typing. I know gratitude helps me appreciate what is going well right here, right now, in the moment. That’s all that matters. It helps keep you in the present so you don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future.
8. Be forgiving: Try forgiveness. It is not easy. It is probably the people that are hardest to forgive who deserve it the most. They might be going through a hard time or they might be doing the best they can. Holding a grudge or resentment toward someone can actually drain you and prevent you from moving on. You are more likely to get back some of that energy that was draining you by being angry or resentful when you forgive someone. You don’t actually need to tell them if that is not available to you. Forgiving them in your heart will free you up.
9. Build Yourself Up: You know what Theodore Roosevelt said? “Comparison is the thief of joy.” We really need to remember that because we all have our unique gifts and talents and it will make you feel a lot better about yourself if you appreciate who you are and what you can bring into the world, instead of comparing yourself to others. You may find that you are happier when you believe in yourself than when you compare yourself to others.
10. Take responsibility for your actions: If you really want to improve yourself, your health, your career, or your outlook, you need to be the first one to own your choices and your decisions. Today may not be the perfect day to start doing situps every day or writing for a few minutes, but let’s face it. There is no perfect time. Just do it and get started. You will be glad you did. You are the one who has the power to make yourself better. Own it and become unstoppable!
Become your biggest cheerleader and know that you are amazing! Go out there and go get ‘em!
