Walking proof: the catalyst to inspire

After a recent sweat session—aka Bikram yoga class—I conversed with a young lady who practices at the same studio. Her story inspires: 50 pounds heavier last year, she suffered with depression perpetuated by the chronic recitation of self-defeating thoughts and words. One day, she began to listen to and read positive affirmations daily and also established an at-home yoga practice. These new habits served as the catalyst for the person she is today, one who exudes confidence from the sparkle in her eyes to the smile that lights up her face. She knows she’s amazing and beautiful (she repeats this mantra habitually). What’s her secret? She mentioned synchronicity—the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection. Yet we both know it’s what I tout in my posts: That what we think, what we believe and what we speak are essential to attracting abundance in our lives. This young lady is walking proof.

What does your life prove about you?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Interrupting the flow: Now what?

You’ve gotten your mojo back on track. You’ve adopted a daily (maybe hourly) mantra that helps you stay focused. You challenge yourself every day (to be better than you were yesterday). You’re on a mission to be grateful for the little—and big—things in life. But now you find your flow interrupted. In other words, you’ve gotten off track. That happened to me last week. “I need a break,” I said to no one in particular. “From what?” my friend asked me. “From everything!” I said. “You’re in a funk,” someone else said. Ironically, that was the whole purpose of employing my reboot challenge. But now I can put my finger on the “why” of it all. Okay, so now what? Just like changing up the rules can bring new insight, so can taking a break. A few nights ago I did just that: I put my to-do list on the back burner. And I slept better than I have in weeks.

What typically interrupts your flow?

Image courtesy of Sira Anamwong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Be a wo(man) on a mission: gratitude with intention

 

Since I misplaced my mojo (see “Don’t let anything dull your sparkle…”), I’ve been on a mission to get “unstuck.” For the past few posts, now, I’ve talked about how I’m rebooting my mojo—by recommitting to a mantra, challenging myself (again) and changing the rules. Here’s another tip I’ve begun to employ: gratitude with intention. On Jan. 1, I opened a brand new journal I received from my BFF, as well as a book of 365+ gratitude prompts a dear friend gifted me for my last birthday. Thus began a daily look at my life through the lens of gratefulness. Unfortunately, just like any routine, over time this practice started to become stale and simply something to check off my to-do list. However, once I took on the mission of locating my missing mojo, I began to approach my morning journaling sessions with intention vs. habit. This has also spilled into my everyday life—through tiny attitude adjustments that make a world of difference.

What’s your mission?

Waiting for better days

[Image credit: Danilo Rizzuti]

As you wait for better days, don’t forget to enjoy today,
in case they’ve already started. ~ Robert Brault

Sometimes, in life, we feel our hands are tied pertaining to certain things — like staying at a job that’s lost its appeal or sacrificing one thing for the good of another.  But I believe, most often, we really do have a choice and we’re simply unwilling to change the status quo.  So if we choose to wait for better days, we must make the decision to be happy where we’re at.  Or be miserable and perhaps miss out on the best thing that may ever happen to us.  Yesterday during the first savasana in Yoga, the teacher instructed the students to mentally validate ourselves with a mantra of sorts to come back to.  Mine was: “I am strong, I am healthy, I am happy.”  Because that is what I choose to be today … while I wait.

How do you remember to enjoy today while waiting for better days?

Staying in the room

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize
how close they were to success when they gave up.
~ Thomas A. Edison

In Bikram Yoga, one of the mantras the instructors repeat (particularly to new students) is to “stay in the room.”  In 105 degrees and 40 percent humidity.  When the going gets tough.  When we feel like we’ve got nothing left to give.  It goes beyond the physical to the mental.  And it also holds true for life.  We can either manage the uncomfortable conditions that we’ll inevitably face, or we can throw in the towel.  Last week tested my patience big time on more than one level.  It would’ve been so easy for me to make excuses to walk away from the setbacks that kept threatening to pull me off course.  But I pushed through the discomfort and, sometime toward the end of the week, things began coming together.  Because I stayed in the room.

Is there something you’ve given up on too easily?

[Image credit: media10.podbean.com]