Showing posts with label Love Yourself. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love Yourself. Show all posts

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Unconditional Love – The Anecdote to Unhealthy Relationships

by: Joanne Goldman




Loving people can be particularly tricky when important relationships are unhealthy. It’s easier to love those you’re in healthy relationships with. If you’re up for changing and deepening all of the relationships around you, then I invite you to master the art of unconditional love. Unconditional love means that you love people with no agenda to your love. You love them because — you love them. You don’t love them so they’ll “do” something. You have no expectations in return for your love. Sound like a challenge? If you’re reading this then there’s a good chance you’re ready for raising your awareness around unconditional love!


Here are some tips on how to practice unconditional love:


1. Experience being love, free from anything else. It’s important to remember that unconditional love is a way of being, not a way of doing. That means it is more a feeling than a task. This can take some practice, as our society is filled with action-oriented activities. Practice unconditional love by sitting quietly, in your home or out in nature, or lying in bed at night, and just experience a state of love through your breathing. Let go of thoughts other than those about love. Bring someone to mind whom you love, or a place you love. If you practice this on a subway or bus, watch the faces of the strangers around you become alive and beautiful!


2. Take care of yourself first! Practicing unconditional love doesn’t necessarily mean to visit your family for Thanksgiving , leaving you wrecked for days and weeks. It doesn’t mean putting yourself in harm’s way physically, sexually or emotionally. You may practice from afar, if need be. There are no rules in what practicing unconditional love looks like.


3. Unconditional love starts with – you! If you’re focused on mastering unconditional love, there’s no better place to start than with yourself! You’ll experience compassion, acceptance and understanding as well as a greater sense of intimacy when you love yourself unconditionally. What we put out in the world we get back, so loving yourself unconditionally will be “mirrored” back to you by other people! It will seem as though they’ve miraculously changed, but you’ll know they’re responding to the unconditional love you’re exuding!


4. Unconditional love is meant to be shared and practiced with others – in your immediate family, in your community and with the world. There’s a saying that says, “Love isn’t love unless you give it away!” Imagine the world we’d be living in if unconditional love were practiced everywhere 24/7?


unconditional.

unconditional. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)



Just like any area of mastery, it may be best to start with small, attainable “wins” such as going above and beyond for people you have healthy friendships with. These are safe environments in which to experience giving and receiving unconditional love. Remember to be open to receiving unconditional love as well as giving it. However, if you expect to receive it from your actions, you’re putting a condition on the love you’re giving. Regardless of whether love happens to come back to you from others, the satisfaction of loving with no strings attached can put you on a different relationship level. The rewards will be sweeter than you ever imagined, as can only be experienced after putting unconditional love into play in your life!


As you learn the lessons of what it takes to build increasing intimacy, loving support and unprecedented relationships, your ability to unconditionally love those who are, let’s say, more difficult to find it in your heart to love, will improve. See, it’s not about the other person – it’s about YOU – practicing mastery in the area of unconditional love. It doesn’t matter if the other person doesn’t get it. It doesn’t matter if they do or don’t change. It doesn’t matter if they understand your actions or take in the love you have toward them. True mastery of unconditional love is greatly tested in unhealthy situations. The perfection in dealing with unhealthy relationships is that you can practice unconditional love full on. Not because you “should” love everyone, but because it is the way you want to live your life.


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Friday, 19 September 2014

3 Ways to Bring Happiness Into Your Life

Life Balance: 3 Ways to Bring More Peace and Happiness into Your Life


by: Ed McDonough




As a Life Balance Expert and Personal Development Life Coach, one question I am frequently asked is “How can I bring greater peace, happiness and balance into all areas of my life?”


For many, having a well-rounded balanced life may seem like a dream, but the fact is anyone, including you, can live a happier, more enjoyable well-balanced life. And, the best part is, it’s a lot easier to accomplish than you may think.


How You Became Out-of-Balance


Stress, anxiety, information overload and countless expectations set upon you by others can easily throw your body, mind and spirit into a state of imbalance, and your life into a state of disarray. It can drain you emotionally and have a huge impact on you physically.


The number one reason this happens is due to a lack of self-focus. In other words, you put the needs of every one else before your own and over time, this drains the life energy out of you.


When this takes place, it causes you to become “unhappy” and that’s where the disconnection happens. It is proven that you cannot function at your optimal performance if you do not have harmony in all areas of your life.


As I mentioned above, getting yourself back “in balance” is rather simple once you recognize that your wellness and well-being must come before every one else. The following are three steps that will easily get you on your way to bringing more peace and happiness into your life.


1 – Make Time to Bring Balance into Your Life


Now that you know your happiness and well-being are not only important to your life, but to the lives of those who surround you, it is time to make balancing your life a top priority.


This means, how well you take care of yourself is the most essential aspect of bringing more balance into your life. The three areas you’ll want focus on are your physical health, your mental awareness and your spiritual well-being.


conquest of happiness

conquest of happiness (Photo credit: the waving cat)



Balancing your physical health starts by practicing simple exercise and slowly adjusting your diet so you eat food that is better for your health. Notice I didn’t say to completely change your life by joining a new gym, engage in a three hour a day workout and set a goal to lose 25 pounds in the next two weeks.


Going from one extreme to the other does not represent bringing greater balance into your life. I know from experience this method will actually put you more out of balance than do you good.


A sensible way, which will be easier and more enjoyable for you to start, is to take one step at a time towards living a healthier lifestyle. An example would be to take a five-minute walk everyday and cut down on the amount of food you eat at each meal. Another weight watching technique I personally use is not to eat anything after 7:00 PM. My coaching practice has shown me simple bite-size changes usually have the greatest and longest lasting impact on changing one’s life for the better.


Balancing your mental awareness is really easy too. In order to think more clearly and have greater focus in you life, you need to put good things and ideas into your head if you want to get good thoughts and actions out.


There are many outstanding audio programs, books and workshops that can help you have greater mental awareness and focus on keeping a steady stream of positive thoughts flowing both in and out of your mind.


I always suggest starting with a book (or audio book) from one of the masters in the personal development field. Continually reading (or listening) to positive information will keep your mind focused on bringing new and wonderful things and events into your life.


Your spiritual well-being is another area that can have a tremendous impact on bringing and maintaining balance in your life.


Spending quiet time each day in prayer or meditation is the most effective way to balance your spiritual energy with your physical energy. It allows you to release stress and anxiety while giving you an excellent opportunity to focus on becoming a better, healthier more happier you.


2 – Clearly Identify What to Want


Four-rocks-balance

Four-rocks-balance (Photo credit: Wikipedia)



The major obstacle I see folks struggling with when attempting to find true inner balance in their life is having a clear understanding of how they want life to be.


To bring genuine balance into your life, you must know what your “balanced life” will be like once you get there.


One technique you can use to help you clearly identify this is to schedule some quiet time for yourself and then answer the following questions:


- What would my perfectly balanced life look like?

- How would I live each day?

- What would I do?

- Where would I go?

- Who would I be with?

- How would I feel?


While performing this exercise, it is important to be open and honest with yourself and to try and picture living a balanced life as if it has already come to fruition.


Understanding all the aspects of what your “balanced life” will look like to you, and seeing it in your minds eye, is a vital step in making it a reality.


3 – Learn to Love Yourself


{love and happiness}

{love and happiness} (Photo credit: Wikipedia)



Loving the person you are is synonymous with life balance, and this is why you need to do it. Inner balance leads to external balance, which will make your life and the lives of those around you better.


When you completely respect the person you are, and when you are true to your inner word, balance will be a normal part of your entire life. The significant point I want to make here is you must be true to yourself and love who you are “today.”


You are the person you are, and regardless of what others may tell you or what you may think others think about you, up until this very moment, you have defined exactly who you are. Good, bad or indifferent, you are the person you are and you should love that person deeply.


It doesn’t mean you have to stay this way; it just means you recognize the “you” you really are and that you are in harmony with who that person is right now. This is a huge step towards finding inner balance and harmony in your life.


If you don’t have love for yourself, or you are having a hard time seeing it, here is a wonderful way to help yourself. Metaphysical teacher and author Louise Hay instructs you in her book, “You Can Heal Your Life,” to look in the mirror, directly into your own eyes, at least once a day and say your first name followed by “I love you, I really love you!”


Not only will this help you connect to your inner self and see the beautiful person in there, it will put a big smile on your face and fill your heart with love. Try it and see the amazing effects for yourself.


Balancing Your Life


When people who want to improve their life come to me, the three steps I guide them through are, make the time to balance your life, clearly identify what you want and learn to love who you already are.


Together these steps seem to work like a magic potion. But the real magic is not in the steps, it is within you and your desire to bring more peace, harmony and balance into your life. Follow them carefully.


About The Author


Life Balance Expert Ed McDonough is a certified personal development life and business coach. He specializes in helping people raise the quality of their life through knowledge, awareness and simple action. For more information and to take your free quality of life assessment visit: http://ift.tt/1mrpkZM






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Thursday, 4 September 2014

The Quest For Happiness

Happiness: The Quest

by: Lambert Klein




Happiness is something many of us strive for. Why is it so hard to achieve, especially at times when you need it the most? How do we change a gloomy mood into a lighter or happier one?


There are some things within our power that will help us accomplish these goals.


What are some benefits of happiness that could encourage you to work towards it even more?


• Health • Self Confidence • A sense of Purpose • More Productivity • Achieve Your Goals • Weight Loss


Funny thing is that the above list also works in reverse. If you are healthy, self confident and all the rest listed, than you will most likely be happier. Sometimes happiness is staring us right in the face.


Here are some ways that you can create happiness in your life.


Exercise: It appears that exercising comes up a lot when we are speaking about improving various things in our lives. It has been shown to improve mood by making us healthier and increasing endorphins.


Foods & Diet: Eating chocolate is probably more of a pleasure than sustained happiness, even though it can provide us with a short-lived boost.


Happiness

Happiness (Photo credit: 4nitsirk)



A healthy diet though is vital for our health and happiness. Too much sugar and junk foods are provisional emotional boosters. In the long run these problem foods will degrade us physically as well as emotionally.


Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, including raw veggies. Cut back on unhealthy foods and don’t “Super Size” it.


Supplements: If you are not receiving all of your nutrients in your diet then you may want to supplement by taking vitamins.


There are some specific supplements that target your mood. You could discuss these with your health practitioner.


Music: Music can bring miracles to your mood. Go ahead and listen to something upbeat and happy.


Rewards: Happiness comes from rewards as well. They can be simple things. You find a great bargain on something you been wanting. Maybe someone offers you a simple item of interest. You do a task and are complimented on it by someone else or yourself. Even finding a coin on the sidewalk can give you a “Reward” feeling that can bring happiness to you.


The greatest reward can come from giving a compliment to someone or saying a kind word.


Gratitude: Be grateful for what you have. This simple statement can make a giant difference in your life! Everyday think of everything you have. The enormous things, and the little things. Are you living in a cardboard box? No. Then be very grateful. Yes? Be grateful for the cardboard box.


Have gratitude for friends and family, the home you live in, the food you eat. Isn’t it great having air to breath, freedom to go where you want. Don’t take these for granted but have gratitude and give thanks.


Love: Well Love can clearly bring happiness. Love for your spouse, friends, neighbors and strangers. Give Love and you will receive Love. Learn to Love Yourself. Let’s all remember that when we interact with others.


Enjoyment: Do what you enjoy. This could be a hobby or going for a walk in the park. If you do things that you like it’s bound to bring happiness.


Forgiveness: Try a bit harder to say kind words to others. Place yourself in the other’s person place for a moment. Sure there are some people that act so mean and hateful. Remember you only hurt yourself when you return meanness or hold resentment and anger inside.


Help Others: Find ways to make others happy. You may be surprised that by willingly helping others to find joy can have a positive impact on you as well. Help others to find meaning in life. Keep them company.


Build Self Confidence: Do your work the best you can. Learn new skills. Find meaning in your career and life. Enjoy a new hobby or game. You can boost your self-confidence by learning new and enjoyable things. Raise your self-confidence and you raise your happiness.


Happiness can make you smarter! Is it really surprising that positive attracts positive? If you do these things you will increase your happiness.


What is the most important thing to you? Is it money, a fancy car or a mansion, maybe your health? What about happiness?


Well let’s think a moment….


If you have happiness, all the happiness you want or need, would that be the most important thing to you?


What good is money or the rest without happiness? If you are truly happy you won’t need to worry about the rest. If you require money to be happy then you will have it. Maybe the saying, “Money Can’t Buy Happiness”, should be “Happiness Can Produce Money”.


Try to release all anger and negative emotions. You can accomplish this easier once you realize you are only hurting yourself and other loved ones around you. Sure it will take regular practice. You may struggle with this, but it can become second nature after awhile.


It’s up to you. Do you want to be negative and unhappy or positive and learn to be happier? You can start now by adding positive attributes to your life. Be good, smile and put on a happy face!


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