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Tag: balance (Page 2 of 2)

Being Selfish Is Not Selfish

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I know that you have heard me say it before, but I want you to know some really good news!!! Are you ready for it? Here it goes….

 It is okay to be selfish sometimes.

Isn’t that relieving?! Knowing that you can focus on yourself and your own needs, and not have to feel guilty about it?

For the sake of this blog I like to refer to selfishness as ‘self-interest’ because it has a much more positive tone to it. So, why is it so important to be self-interested? And how can we be self-interested without feeling guilty?

Answer me this…How productive are you when you are exhausted, upset, rushed? How involved and focused are you on your work, family, and other obligations when you are experiencing those symptoms I just listed? How are you able to fully invest in those obligations when you are not fully invested in yourself, first and foremost?

Do this exercise for me real quick: Come up with a list of things you can do for self care, because to be self-interested means you have to take care of yourself. What are some goals you can set for yourself to be sure you’re giving yourself enough ‘me time’, and how will you hold yourself accountable for reaching that goal? For example, one of my self care goals is to get a manicure every 3 weeks 🙂 I schedule my next appointment while I am at the salon so I know for sure that I will continue my self care and not forget about it. Although this act of self-interest costs money, there are many self-interest options that do not cost anything, such as taking a bath, going for a walk, calling someone you’re close to, listening to music, etc.

Each day ask yourself two things: 1. What would be the most loving action I could take for myself today? 2. What would be fun for me today?
Put these questions in your phone as an alarm, or write yourself a sticky note and place it somewhere you will see it each and every day.

Self-interest helps to clear our minds and feel rejuvenated. It helps me focus on myself, and what I need to do for me in order to focus on my other obligations. We need that ‘breath of fresh air’ sometimes, that break, that moment of selfishness to feel ready to take on the next challenge that comes our way. I know for a fact that I am much more empathetic, patient, and happy helping others at work every day when I also remember to help myself.

Sometimes I feel guilty when I focus on myself, and I think that is pretty normal. But, by reminding myself that I am a better me when I am happy and give myself some time to breathe, I feel so much better about every other aspect in my life. You are helping others more-so by spending some time focusing on you as well. With a fresh mind, you can better help and be there for others. It is all about balance and giving yourself permission to love yourself.

I think society puts a lot of pressure on us to do for others, be helpful, focus on people’s needs and how we can better this world. Yes, all of these things are true and important, but we are forgetting to include ourselves in there! We cannot better the lives of others if we are not bettering ourselves. We are a society focused on external reward and praise for our actions. Those are great things, but they can be even greater if we remember to give ourselves a break sometimes.
Self interest = self respect.
Type ‘self-interest quotes’ into your search engine and view images to see all the negative ideas of self-interest that pop up. This is unfortunately a good example of why we are made to believe that being self-interested is frowned upon, and that is truly a misconception!

It is not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and make your happiness a priority.  It’s necessary.

Have I persuaded you yet?

-keep shining

 

Life’s Too Short

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It’s true…. Life is WAY to short to be unhappy. Our days here truly are limited, so it’s really important that we make the most of it. We really do exhaust ourselves without even realizing it a lot of the time. From work loads that seem to follow us home, children and their busy schedules, laundry (my personal favorite), oh  the list goes on and on!

During my travels to other countries, I have learned that we in the U.S. are really materialistic, hard working people. We work, a lot. We work hard, and we are constantly on the go. We spend hours upon hours working to afford that gorgeous $300,000 home, but never spend any time in that new home because we are always working! Ironic, isn’t it?

I remember hearing this question once and it has really stuck with me. I believe it went something like this… “The day when you are on your death bed, who do you want beside you? Your job, or your family and friends?” For me, this was really powerful. Where do you want to spend a lot of your time? Consumed by your work, or being happy spending time with those you love? Which one of those options will be there for you in your final days?

Now I am not saying work is not important. I love my job, and we need to work to meet our needs. But, to be happy means to find balance.

Where do we find balance? Where can we find some peace and happiness, and learn to do things for ourselves once in a while?

You’ve got to learn to make time to be happy! Do what you love, and love spending time with yourself. It’s so important to spend time by yourself and get to know the person you are. It is so important to love yourself before giving ourselves to everyone else. It is okay to be selfish sometimes!

Have you ever been asked the question what are the things you love most in your life? And how many times on our long list of things we love do we mention ourselves? Probably never! We need to love ourselves in order to be happy. And in order to be happy we need to take breaks from every day monotony to enjoy what we love. Make a list of things you want to make more time for, whether it’s watching a movie once a week or going on a trip. But, remember to put yourself at the top of that list and remember to spend time getting to know who you are.

What are things in your life (besides your charming self, of course!) that you love? What are things you wish you had more time for because they make you happy?

Make time for those things, and make time for yourself. Life is too short not to enjoy it.

‘It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.’

-keep shining

Ground Your Way To Happiness…

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Serenity; the state of calmness, being untroubled, and peaceful.
Doesn’t that sound amazing? I need more serenity in my life, as I am sure you do too!
One way to help become more ‘serene’ of a person is to utilize the skill of grounding.

This week’s blog has a lot of commonalities as my last blog titled “Find Your Happy Place”. I think it is so important for us as human beings to be able to find a safe place, to feel relief, to detach from painful emotions, to center ourselves, and to use distraction during tough times. I love focusing on a lot of these topics because it is something we all need to utilize more often, and we all need reminders that we are worthy of being happy.  Grounding is another healthy way in which to accomplish these things.

Grounding is a way to gain back control over our feelings. It’s a way to create balance between feeling nothing (numbness) or feeling too much (overwhelmed, stressed). It helps us stay in touch with the present moment and to not judge. In grounding, we stay completely neutral. For example, instead of saying ‘that carpet is red, and I hate the color of red because it reminds me of anger’, just simply notice in your mind that the carpet is red and move on, staying neutral.

I have a few favorite grounding techniques that I will share with you today. Please know there are tons more grounding technique ideas that you can research and utilize on your own, or create your own to make them special to you. There are ways in which to utilize physical grounding and mental grounding as I will explain next.

The good news is that physical grounding is really easy! For me, it is as simple as running my hands under cold water, stretching, touching objects around me, paying attention to my breathing and footsteps…Really taking the time to slow down and notice my physical self and physical surroundings. A lot of us run from one thing to the next, not even focusing on or realizing what we are currently doing. Physical grounding is a way to focus and remind yourself of your present moment and where you are at. I know some people who keep an object (rock, penny, picture) in their pocket or on a dresser, in their office, etc…They touch this object and remind themselves of staying in the present moment.

Mental grounding is where it gets more difficult because typically we are pretty hard on ourselves, and typically it is hard to let go of negative feelings we have towards ourselves or others. It is difficult to not feel overwhelmed by our busy lives. Below are two of my favorite mental grounding techniques:

#1…Look around you and find 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. This will help you to feel more in control of your surroundings.

#2…Four-Square Breathing. Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth and breathe through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and take 4 seconds to release through your mouth (tongue still on the roof of your mouth). Wait 4 seconds, and repeat a total of 4 times…Or more if needed! It is important to breathe from our stomachs during this exercise.

Other ways to stay mentally grounded are to play a categories game with yourself (list types of dogs, musical artists, TV shows, names of athletes, etc.). Or reading out loud, saying every word slowly to yourself. Use humor! Count to 10 or sing the alphabet (I do this when I am upset, typically before I respond to the person who has upset me). Repeat a favorite saying to yourself (such as a bible verse), or use a  statement that you created (‘I am worthy of being happy, I love myself, I need to slow down today’). Make sure your statements are kind and uplifting(‘I am a great person with a good heart, I am just going through a tough time right now’). Think about your favorite things (food, music, sport, activity…). Plan out, in detail, a fun treat for yourself (having some candy, getting a massage…). Have photos of or picture in your mind people you really care about…

Also, it is important to use a lot of imagination. For example, let’s say you are trying to get away from some pain you are experiencing. Really imagine yourself, in creative detail, leaving that pain behind. Something such as riding a bike through mountains and waterfalls getting away from your pain. Sounds cheesy, but it helps!

As I mentioned in my ‘Happy Place’ blog, practice a lot to help become one step closer to a more serene self. Find which techniques work best for you, and make them unique to yourself. Repeat the techniques until they become habit, and take note of whether you are more successful at mental or physical grounding techniques. Get yourself more familiar with other grounding techniques I did not mention here, or techniques you create yourself.

Also, do not underestimate the power of silence when utilizing grounding techniques. Try spending time in silence to assist in becoming one step closer to serenity. We don’t always have to have noise around us. Silence is golden.

Choose your thoughts carefully. Keep what brings you peace, release what brings you suffering. And know that happiness is just a thought away.

keep shining

 

 

 

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