Be kind to yourself

When was the last time you truly noticed how you treat yourself? Listen to the words you use. Are you kind? Are you understanding? Do you accept, resist or reject what is happening? Do you get easily uptight? This is an invitation to care.

Open your heart.  Allow yourself to feel your way through the inner messages you are sending. What if every time you communicate to the world, you are actually inviting yourself to love more unconditionally? Laugh uncontrollably.

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” 

-Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa & 8 Points to keep yourself on track

Mentors are viewed as inspirations and leaders who set uplifting examples.  Mother Teresa's life choices illustrate what it feels like to 'do the right thing.'  She set the intention to be herself regardless of what she encountered.  Her  behavior speaks for itself. Take this to heart.  Keep yourself on track:

1) People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centred.  Forgive them anyway.

-As you forgive, you choose not to be lowered to their level and thus rise-up higher to inspire.  People who gripe about life would like nothing better than to hurt successful people. Why give them that satisfaction?  Why not inspire them to transform instead?

2) If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.

-Be kind because this is your nature, not because you have ulterior motives.  Be genuine and you will attract sincere, like-minded people to assist you with your pursuits.        

3) If you're successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.  Succeed anyway.

-People will disagree with you or be offended.  Ignore these reactions.  As you learn to avoid relationships of convenience, you can build a reputation of integrity.

4) If you're honest and frank, people may cheat you.  Be honest and frank anyway.

-Treat others as you would hope to be treated.  Rise above a fear of dishonesty.  Set examples.

5) What you spend years building, someone may destroy overnight.  Build anyway.

-As you give life to your inner passions, you share joy because it gives your life meaning. If anyone burned your writings or destroyed your creations, you couldn't help but continue.  You sense this is what you're meant to do.

6) If you find serenity and happiness, people may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.

-People around you always benefit from examples of happiness. Even grumps might come around.

7) The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.  Do good anyway.

-Give of yourself not as an effort to seek approval but to uplift or cheer people for the sake of it.  Visit friends, relatives and strangers in nursing homes or hospitals. Brighten their spirits.

8) Give the world the best you have; it may never be enough.  Give the world your best anyway.

-As you detach yourself from desired outcomes, you'll be surprised at the benefits.  You aren't meant to predict all the events you touch. Many are beyond your scope and control. Appreciate all that unfolds.

Success begins inside yourself

Many people talk about success.   Some people offer step-by-step models and invite you to follow their lead.  Other people offer courses, podcasts, CD-Roms and DVDs to give you insight into their personal triumphs. You can find books about people who have achieved their goals and call this success.  What does all this mean to you? Maybe it gets you excited about doing something new.  Maybe it makes you feel you're not yet where you wish to be. Maybe you don't have a plan to develop or distinguish yourself.

Its important to recognize that if you don't yet have a clear idea what success would mean to you, the only person who could change how you perceive and understand success is you.  For you, perhaps success relates less to the idea of finishing a task than to the process and what you learn about yourself as you prioritize the plans to get there.  As you convert the goal into steps, you would also benefit from listing obstacles that you think hold you back.   Consider mentors or other people who could potentially assist you to overcome these obstacles. You may also have your own revelations. 

Once you create a vision of what you seek, you need to find ways to motivate yourself to make it happen.  Psychology suggests that you are most likely to be motivated by a) feelings of yearning b) fear of loss and c) the desire to love and be loved.  As you clarify your notions of success, and begin to identify how you could measure results, focus on what you will gain and how this will enrich your life.

Superachiever Steven K. Scott has come to expect criticism, problems and failures.  Rather than become defensive, make excuses or rationalize failures, he accepts responsibility for results of his efforts, he retraces his steps to recognize what he could do differently, and he takes a new approach based on wisdom.  He reminds us that no worthwhile success in any endeavour is ever achieved without encountering adveristy.

"The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done." -Mother Teresa