10 Steps to Happy!
Last weekend I was lucky enough to see some of Australia's top inspirational speakers in action at the I Can Do It! seminar. The opening speakers were the very iconic Louise L. Hay, author of best selling book You Can Heal Your Life and Cheryl Richardson (kind of a junior Louise). The two women opened the day together by outlining their ten top tips for loving yourself more and improving the quality of your life. I had to share, so here they are...
1. Stop ALL Criticism!
Catch your criticisms and refuse to talk badly about yourself, make a vow today to STOP. You've likely been criticising yourself for years, and it hasn't changed a thing, so why not try something different! Stop yourself mid-thought and choose to rephrase it in a positive way instead. Choose nurturing, supportive and uplifting thoughts in order to create positive change for yourself.
2. Don't scare yourself!
Stop scaring yourself with frightening thoughts, they make every situation worse. Lying awake at night going over your problems and dreaming up the worst possible scenario is no fun and certainly not productive! Frightening thoughts are negative affirmations, so when they pop up, try thinking of something that makes you happy and focus on that instead. Keep doing this and the habit will eventually dissolve.
3. Be gentle, kind and patient with yourself!
Treat yourself as you would someone you really, really like. Be gentle, kind and patient. As you journey through life, you need patience to stay on the right path, particularly as it can often feel like we're taking one step forward and two steps backward! It 's OK to make mistakes, so many of us are obsessed with trying to make ourselves and everything around us perfect but life's just not like that, it's fluid and we need to roll with the punches! Think of your mind as a garden, what kind of seeds do you want to plant? Select the seeds (thoughts) that will contribute to the garden of experiences you want to have. Take care of them. Watch for weeds (negative thoughts) and pluck them out!
4. Be kind to your mind!
Make it a gentle place to live and fill it with loving thoughts. Self hatred is really only hating thoughts you have about yourself. We don't have to earn love, as we don’t have to earn the right to breathe. We have the right to be loved, simply because we exist. Repeating positive affirmations to yourself is one of the best ways to be kind to your mind. Use your thoughts to build yourself up, not tear yourself down.
5. Praise yourself!
Tell yourself how well you're doing. Criticism breaks your inner spirit, whereas praise will lift it up.
6. Support yourself!
Reach out to friends and allow them to help you. Sometimes we feel afraid to ask for help but it's impossible to carry every burden along yourself! It's a sign of strength to ask for help when you need it.
7. Be loving to your negatives!
You created every negative habit to fulfil a particular need but remember, you aren't stuck with your habits, you always have the choice to choose a new, more supportive thought pattern. Let go of those old habits with love. Negative habits make us feel safe, that is why we created them. But ask yourself, are your current habits benefiting you at all, or are they holding you back?
8. Take care of your body!
It's the house you live in, you only move out when you leave the planet! Watch what you're putting in to your body and don't treat it as a trash can. Louise swears by drinking a green juice every single day! Fill your body with nutrient dense, clean food. Avoid food products from food manufacturers. Food should not be manufactured, it should be grown or caught.
9. Mirror work
Louise swears by this and says she's seen so many lives changed by people simply taking time to look in the mirror and tell themselves they love what they see. Try it - you can really feel your inner energy begin to shift. First thing in the morning, look in the mirror and say something along the lines of, "I love you, how can I make you happy today?"
10. Be willing!
Just start by being open to change and telling yourself that you're willing to learn to love yourself. Eventually you'll start to believe the new message you're putting out there and the world will become a brighter place. Happy mirror chatting people!Leash x