Top 10 Ways to Encourage Yourself

It's been a week & I'm still here.

Sounds pathetic, I know. But I'm proud. Still on schedule. Those of you with hectics lives will understand how difficult staying on schedule is these days.

These are the things that help me to stay on schedule. That might seem counter-intuitive, but it does work for me.

Now these are my personal ones, yours may be different. But I'm hoping that mine can give you a platform to start. I believe its foundational to have a better relationship with yourself. This is how I've done it... heck, DO it. I work on this stuff daily. Let's go over them really quickly shall we?

10.) Know Which Feelings Drive You.

I recommend reading ‘The Desire Map’ by Danielle LaPorte. She puts into clear perspective why you feel like you’re in a rat race in the first place. Then she flips you upside down. Smacks you upside the head. Then kisses you on the forehead and says you’re beautiful… move forward. Core Desired Feelings first.

There is nothing more encouraging than understanding why you desire very specific feelings. Screw working at places that make me feel trapped, I’m now focused on being Fluid. Ahhhhhh… see… doesn’t that sound like a load off? Read it, you won’t regret it.

9.) Brew Yourself A Cozy Cup of...

Don’t wait to feel bad to have nice hot cup of tea or coffee. I love you Sheldon, but I’m not waiting to feel crappy. Whatever it is... make it feel soothing to you.

8.) Turn on your grooviest tunes.

Doesn’t matter what. What matters is that it’s that kind of music your body starts to have a mind of it’s own. Even if it’s as simple as a tap of your foot or the sway of your head.

Listen to that beat… get IN that beat. Lose yourself in it. When it’s your jams, you can’t but help feel empowered. Be prepared. Have a specific playlist ready for you at any emergency moment when you need it most. I have ‘We are the Champions’ by Queen on mine. Fist pumps in the air always seem to have a way of making me feel like a superhero. Yeah!

7.) Put Your Super Hero Outfit On

When you feel you’re worst, look your best. One of my best friends, Janel, taught me this. I’m TERRIBLE at this. Hey, I’m being honest. There’s nothing more soothing to me than hanging out in my yoga pants, hair not done, no make-up, popcorn, & a Netflix binge. I obviously love movies & shows.

Changing my look simply changes my vibe… PUSHING me to change my trajectory. Being comfortable is not always the best thing for action.

6.) Feed Your Soul

Cook yourself a super healthy tasty meal. Sound corny? Well, try it. The key here is not, ‘Oh, I gotta go to the store. Gotta make a healthy meal. I’ve been off the wagon so you know how it goes… gotta get back on.” OMG are you snoring yet? Cause I am! That sounds like a terrible meal. No offense but no thank you. Please don’t invite me over for dinner.

Make dinner fun. Listen to your grooves. Get in a dance session. Don't cook anything that's too much work for you. Start a collection of the ones that work for you. Substitute what works for you. Don't expect your ideal meal plan to come from someone else. Create it. Great healthy fresh food tastes bomb diggity. But it might take some trail & error till you find what works for you.

(Some of you may have to trust me on this one. Don’t worry. I’ll share with you some of my favorite recipes from time to time. Deliciousness counts as art & should be spread.)

5.) Fill Your Space With Joy

You know yourself best. This is GREAT NEWS! No one can encourage you better. Fill your space. Fill your head. Fill your ears. Fill the aromas in your room. Everything in your surroundings should be encouraging. If it’s not. Get rid of it. Don’t forget to share with others in your house. They may have their own joy that equally need the space.

Post a mantra. A song line that moves you. A movie quote that makes you want to save the galaxy. Post them on your mirror. Put them at your desk. Have one in your wallet.

Hell, put them EVERYWHERE. What you focus on is what you’ll receive. We’re human. We need reminders. I know I need a good slap-in-the-face when times get tough. Snap me back in the game… find my inner Rick.

4.) Be Grateful

Have you ever read, ‘How to make every man want you?’ by Marie Forleo? If not, it’s great. Everyone should read it. Even men. She has a chapter in there where she talks about how un-irresistible it is to be a complainer.

Marie leaves you with this challenge. Become aware of how many times you complain. Whether it’s in your head or out loud. For a whole day. Since I like to make things extra challenging, I approached my boyfriend. I said, 'Hey, I’d like to do this challenge with you.' We called it ‘no complaint week’. It’s eye-opening. Holy cow. I am a *cough cough* complainer.

I still practice gratefulness. I find I'm more encouraged and I also like listening to myself more. Thanks Marie.

3.) Focus on Your Strengths

There is nothing more empowering than knowing what you’re good at. Why? Cause so many of us are great at things and we’re not even aware of it. Everyone needs to push their boundaries of understanding how they tick. Don’t lie. You’re curious anyways.

Get yourself ‘Now, Discover your Strengths’ by Donald O. Clifton and Sally Byrne Woodbridge. Take the evaluation. This evaluation was eye-opening for me. It brought out how different my apple is from my tree. There’s nothing wrong with my apple. There’s nothing wrong with my tree. But our thought processes are stark different. This empowered me to trust myself more. My strengths allowed me to encourage myself to be more of me.

2.) Create Better Labels

Look up Tony Robbin’s RPM (Rapid Planning Method). No I have never been able to go to a Tony Robbins seminar. Gotta love YouTube.

It took me some time to understand this. But when I got it… OMG… slap-in-the-face.

Tony says when we have ‘chores’ we’ve kinda already put ourselves in this mindset of uuuuuggggghhhhh. Let’s face it. Some things in life feel uuuuuuuughhhhh. We need to flip the switch.

Now I put meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking under one category: Emotional & Physical Warrior Princess… TRALALALALALALALALALALALALA. Yes, this is one of my calendars. It’s nuts. It’s full of color & the craziest categories ever.

Suddenly I found healthy cooking a positive challenge. I found a way to make my meals healthy & yummy so I could BE an Emotional & Physical Warrior Princess… TRALALALALALALALALALALALALA.

All I was doing was reframing how I saw doing those errands. I simplified them by putting all 3 tasks under the same category. Then I changed my verbiage to something that inspired me & made me want to… well… TRALALALALALALALALALALALALA! I’m still floored how well this worked. You gotta try it.

1.) Be Compassionate to Yourself.

Stop the inner chatter. Let’s face it. We are mean to ourselves. Have you ever stopped to listen to yourself? You are insane. We all are. Luckily, it’s chatter. It doesn’t actually mean anything. That is if you don’t let it. Find something that helps you stop this chatter. For some people it might be surfing. For others it’s meditation. You need to find that thing that brings you to your own center. Your own definition of personal peace.

Oprah & Deepok Chopra have these great free online 21-day meditations. They come out every now and again. I love them. They always seems to hit the spot. It calms me. It releases the tension I carry in my heart when I become I control freak. It reminds me to BREATH. Do you have any idea how easy it is to hold your breath when you’re stressed? So much so you don’t even know you’re doing it. Till someone comes along and says take a DEEP breath in, all the way, until your lungs are full. Hold it for a couple of seconds. Now breath out, ALLLLLLL the way, until you’re out of air. Now do it again. And again. And again.

I find no better encouragement than a clear mind. When I feel clear, I feel fluid. My Core Desired Feelings are accomplished. I trust myself and my decisions more. For me, there’s no better way to find encouragement quicker. 15-20 minutes a day and I make better sound decisions for the entire day? Sounds like an infomercial. But it’s not. Give it a try. And it’s free. No shipping required.

These are my top 10 ways to encourage myself. They may not work for you, but I’m hoping that someone finds value even in one of these tips. Sometimes encouragement is all we need. Why wait for others to give it to you. Give it to yourself. Start now. You have so much to give. Show up for yourself. You’ll love the results.

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