My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.
—Ernest Hemingway
Feel Good
If you suffer, it is because of you. If you feel blissful, it is because of you. Nobody else is responsible, only you and you alone. You are your hell and your heaven too.
—Osho
First, of course, know that you are always in charge of you.
Become more carefree. Decide to feel good. Lighten up—do not be so serious. Dream large. I believe that your goals should be unreasonably enormous. If you make small goals and never reach them, you will never even touch your genuine passion. Thus, set your goals high and declare yourself a success now.
Get over on your subconscious mind. Being comfortable will never allow you to grow further than where you are now. Make your desires something wondrous then. Do not dwell on struggling. That only allows more energy to build in that area. Instead, focus on the great parts of your life.
No regrets—no looking back. Do not waste your present time over-thinking the past. It is a time zapper. Decide to slow down or diminish the complaining in your life. Once you become consciously aware of complaining, you will see that it impedes success.
Remain an optimist—or work to become one. Become Zen-like in your endeavors. Take some bigger leaps and set your sights high for yourself. You are freer than you think you are.
Move forward. Give yourself a new life experience. You always have another opportunity.
The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building the new.
—Socrates
Focus. Focus on you. Focus on yourself.
See yourself as beautiful. Claim your confidence. Un-label yourself—do not let a label be your crutch. If you have always said you’re shy, you can decide to remove that label. If you always say that you do not know how to do a certain something, you can stop saying that today. Do something big. Jump into it. Just jump and do it. You do not even have to know exactly why. Do not wait for the gatekeepers to tell you you can. Book the plane ticket. Go on that trip. Take that class. Make that huge painting. Because, why not? Do not let money be the reason. Never. Money is just paper. Do what you feel you need to do. What you want to do. You know what you need to make yourself feel alive.
So, do it!
As soon as the mind is ready the sun shines on it.
—Sri Nisargadatta Maharaja
Once you become aware of your inner courage, you will realize that you do have more energy. Look around you—notice the beauty of life. Either begin to make it a point to be around happy, successful, and productive people—or listen to them virtually until you can in physical life.
Look for purity. Search for the purity of your life. Create with pure intentions.
No one is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart: for his purity, by definition, is unassailable.
—James Baldwin
Plant good thoughts in your mind. When you plant a seed, you are reaping multiple rewards. One seed leads to many. You want this to occur in your mind and, thus, life. As you plant more and more good thoughts, unnecessary thoughts will be wiped out. Deliberately think more positive thoughts every day.
Your beliefs are your map of your reality. They guide you through the day. There is nothing more important to you than what you believe. Also, know that no one is against you. Please know that no one or nothing is holding you back. If you think you have enemies, understand that all is relative. Love yourself again, and the enemies will no longer be enemies. If you love yourself, there’s no one to fear.
Decide to be who you intend to be—and be that person.
You may have to work on this every day. Make the intention. Begin to trust your inner voice. See how far you can go when you trust your intuition. Make your new beliefs—your life. Decide who you are. How far will you go? What will you do when you’re faced with two directions? Which way will you go? Go past the personality tests. Who are you? Who do you want to be? Who do you intend to be while here?
You get what you think about most. The more you think life is good, the better it becomes. Everything is and can be excellent now—just begin to notice it.
All experiences are preceded by mind, having mind as their master, created by mind.
—The Buddha, The Dhammapada
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—Photo Credit: Flickr/Heidi