[success]Today is a new day. Don’t let your history interfere with your destiny! Let today be the day you stop being a victim of your circumstances and start taking action towards the life you want. ~ Steve Mariboli[/success]
Over the years and probably unconsciously, you’ve adopted some habits that haven’t served you well; habits that have sabotaged your every effort to live a successful, rewarding life.
You just have to get the fundamentals down, because without them nothing works well. And you get to the fundamentals by training yourself, until they become a part of who you are.
Step out into life and live it well, and remember any brick walls you encounter aren’t to keep you out, they’re merely a reminder that it’s time to grow a little bit because on the other side, your path continues, ever more beautiful.
Begin by asking yourself in each moment, with each event, is this leading me to the best experience possible?
1. Live your own truth
[success]The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche[/success]
Most people have a hard time separating themselves from the expectations of others. It’s often easier to give up who you are than to embark on the journey towards your true self. Towards your own dreams and desires.
Don’t be afraid. You can do it.
Begin by seeing your live as a privilege, not something to be endured, nor to be lived to someone else’s standards, but to be lived fully as you see fit. Dance, sing, feel joyful and relish who you are. And if you’re going to mess it up, and that’ll probably happen some time along the way, at least it’s your mess. You made the choices. Not someone else.
If you always believe in yourself, before too long others will come to believe in you too. And for those that don’t. It doesn’t matter.
Live your own truth…it’s fundamental.
2. Give up gossip
[success]Never to wrong others takes one a long way towards peace of mind. ~ Seneca.[/success]
We become what we repeatedly do. And many of us live life on autopilot where we repeat the same things on a daily basis.
This is all well and good if at the end of the day we can truly say, hand on heart, I lived a good day today, I have no regrets. I feel good about the way I used my time.
Gossip is focusing on all the things we don’t like or don’t want in our life.
Simply a distraction.
We know that it’s easier to talk about someone else’s flaws rather than look at our own but it’s taking us nowhere, except to attract into your world more experiences you won’t like. Experiences you’ll regret.
And honestly, if those flaws weren’t a match to something in us, we wouldn’t see them anyway.
Before indulging in any gossip ask yourself this question: will this conversation better my world? Will it lead to peace of mind?
Keep your focus fixed on what you want…it’s fundamental.
3. Don’t fear challenges
[success]Don’t give up! It’s not over. The universe is balanced. Every set-back bears with it the seeds of a come-back. ~ Steve Mariboli[/success]
Don’t ever lose sight of the fact that you are magnificent. There is no small you. You are part of the divine and capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for.
Everyone experiences challenges. What matters is how you decide to see them. Whatever choice you make, this is the way your life will be.
An empowered perspective always makes things easier and even when the challenges appear overwhelming, and all seems lost, you’ll often discover that you were a winner after all.
Will you be enriched by the challenges you encounter or will you allow them to diminish you, to poison your soul. You’re in charge, the choice is yours.
If you choose to see it this way, your challenges can be the forces that propel you forward, despite yourself, and remember they will pass, but the strength and skills you acquire from handling them will always be with you.
See a BIG you and a small everything else…this is fundamental.
4. Applaud your awesome
[success]The more you see yourself as what you’d like to become, and act as if
what you want is already there, the more you’ll activate those dormant
forces that will collaborate to transform your dream into your reality. ~ Wayne Dyer[/success]
You are awesome. Yes I’m talking to you.
You don’t have to be taught to be awesome. You’re already it. You don’t need to be taught to be unsinkable. You’re already it. Just as you’re already beautiful and worthy and strong.
You have exactly what you need to accomplish your heart’s desire, but a little reminder doesn’t come amiss. It’s time to live life on purpose, in relentless alignment with those yet to be fulfilled desires of your heart.
Get out of your own way, take that leap of faith and use the immeasurable power you’ve been gifted with. It’s time to bring your passion back to the forefront of living, to fulfill your true potential.
Stop taking any past mistakes so personally, it’s time to let go. Use them as guideposts, revealing to you the tweaks that need to be made to the beliefs you hold. Let go of any old habits of thought that say you can’t, you shouldn’t.
You can. You most definitely should.
What are you waiting for? You have everything you need to live a successful and rewarding life. Use it…that’s fundamental.
5. Notice the clues
[success]It’s all a matter of paying attention, being awake in the present moment…The magic in this world seems to work in whispers. ~ Charles de Lint[/success]
Every day we’re given personal cues to remind us of where we are and for the most part we don’t get the message. You are the originator of your life, learn to read the universal clues that help you to bring forth your dreams.
If you see or hear of someone who is sick the cue is to remember your health. Nurture yourself for a moment each day, because you deserve it.
If you read or hear a negative tale, it’s your cue to remind yourself how accentuating the positive feels so much better.
If you hear of another’s success it’s your cue to be grateful for where you are right now and for the continuing success you expect to see.
If your friend is having a lousy day it’s your cue to be determined to enjoy some moments in your day.
Be more aware of the clues…it’s fundamental.
Now, I’d love to hear from you. In the comments below tell me what fundamentals you’re putting in place, or anything else you’d like to share.
As always, bless you for reading, sharing, commenting and being a part of our wonderful community, which exists because you’re in it.
Encourage one another.
Love Elle
Photo credit: www.Bigstock.com
38 Comments
I’m definitely taking responsibility. This will give me the power to reach higher levels and change outcomes.
I’m owning my actions and learning from my mistakes. This helps in becoming a more effective person.
I think this is a big part of growth and success.
~Lea
What struck me most about your post, Elle, is that we have to train ourselves until these important fundamental are a seamless part of our being. To me that means staying focused and that’s my aim for 2014.
Hi Sandra, isn’t that the truth. We’re so trained already with fundamentals that so don’t serve us and if we would just retrain ourselves, even a tiny bit, we can make a huge difference in our life. One little step at a time. 🙂
I just want to thank you for sharing your wisdom….I look forward to your letters and enjoy each message. Best to you!
Hi Annie, nice to see you here and I’m so happy you enjoy the articles. They’re all a labour of love. 🙂
I’m learning (from you, mostly) to shed the negativity and applaud my awesome! Thanks so much, Elle, for being so inspiring!
Thank you Cher, I’m so happy you’re applauding your awesome. You are so flipping awesome to me kiddo. 🙂
Elle, I love your section “Notice the Clues.” Others are mirrors for us. That can be very hard to see sometimes. Thanks for this simple, powerful reminder! Lots of wisdom here to ponder.
Hi Martine and you are so right about it being challenging to see how others are mirrors for us. I remember years ago meeting Shakti Gawain who’d written a book about that very thing and I asked her if this meant everyone, all the time, thinking that some of the folks I knew couldn’t possibly be a mirror for me. But when she said yes. I had to go away and do some soul searching and tweaking! Ouch. 🙂
Elle,
I just love your 5 fundamentals! Wonderful habits to practice for this year and always. I especially love giving up gossip which I have tried to do for some years now. And also, notice the clues. There are so many days when I sleepwalk through life and this is a great reminder.
Thanks!
xoxo
Betsy
Hi Betsy, many don’t appreciate how destructive gossip can be in our own lives. As a kid I remember my mum used to tell us if you can’t find something nice to say, don’t say anything at all! Course I haven’t always followed her wisdom. And as for the clues, it’s amazing once we begin to be aware how clear they are. 🙂
Love it especially embrace your awesomeness- that is one that we can forget or not believe. Being present and noticing the signs spoke to me too. Thanks you have me thining about my fundamentals for the year 🙂
It can be challenging sometimes to see how awesome we are Suzie. Funnily enough awesome is the word hubby has chosen for 2014. We choose words every year, so it was great to see your recent post on this very thing. And being aware of the signs allows us to operate our life at a much more conscious level and I know we’re all willing and happy to do that. 🙂
I love that you’ve reminded us about what success is all about, Elle! This year I’m going back to the basics. And you, my friend, applaud your awesome – because you are! ♥
Hi Corinne, thank you for your sweet words. I find I often have to go back to basics and it’s a great exercise as a check in for where we are in our life and to make sure we’re still heading in the direction we want. 🙂
Powerful words to make me look past my perceived failures and focus on my awesomeness! I will read this over and over until I get the ideas seamlessly incorporated into my daily life. Thanks Elle.
Hi Lindy, so glad you stopped by and even more glad that you’ll be paying attention to your awesome. 🙂
Love this line, Elle – “You don’t have to be taught to be awesome.” When we do have that basic belief, we will be free to accomplish anything! Thanks for the reminder!!
Hi Cathy, your words ring so true. When we have that fundamental awareness locked in, we’re pretty much able to accomplish whatever it is we choose. 🙂
Love starting my week/day reading your post…
Thanks Elaine, I’m glad you’re enjoying the posts. 🙂
This post was good to my soul! I needed this today, so thank you!
Hi Jessica…am truly happy you were feeding your soul today. It’s a good thing to do on a daily basis. 🙂
Hi Elle,
What an amazing and inspiring post! I was getting more and more inspired as I was reading down it.
The advice and tips you’ve shared are sure to help us live a successful and rewarding life. The point which really stood out for me, is what you said about how challenges will pass, but the strengths and skills we gain from dealing with them, will stay with us. This is so true!
Many thanks, Elle. 🙂
Hi Hiten. Thanks for your kind words and I’m very happy you enjoyed the post. As a writer yourself, you know how satisfying it is to write something that encourages, supports or inspires another. It’s truly a labour of love. 🙂
So needed this today! Thank you Elle 🙂
Glad to be helpful Vinma. It’s always good to acknowledge your awesome. 🙂
One of my favorite sayings: An arrow only reaches its destination after it’s pulled back. Like Steve said, every set-back bears with it the seeds of a come-back.
Don’t you just love that quote Tammy – gosh there are so many quotable people in the world saying things I wish I’d said first! 🙂
Some people mistaken the to live by other’s expectation is a demonstration of love. They went on to explain that to live our truth and not live on other’s expectation is selfish/self-centered.
They have mixed up self-centered and living our truth. They look the same, but are not the same.
Welcome Joe, thank you for stopping by and sharing your wisdom. Really liked that last sentence of yours. 🙂
Elle, thanks for the great reminders. I especially love love love your reminder on notice the clues, paying attention to our inner messages and intuition. More than anything this year, I will be reaching for the better feeling place because I continue to find that every time I’m there every thing falls in to place. Take care
Hello Li-ling – how wonderful to invest in yourself by continuing to focus on feeling good. No surprise to me that when you do that everything falls into place. Keep it up, you’re lighting up our world. 🙂
I love this post, Elle! I especially like “live your own truth.” My therapist once told me, “You can’t take care of another person’s feelings and tell your truth.” That really resonated for me and my effort to live my truth.
Hi Lisa, thanks for stopping by and sharing your truth. I think I’d like your therapist! 🙂
Hi Elle; Once again you have rocked this post. I love that quote don’t let your history keep you from your destiny. I checked the national library service for the blind site and they didn’t have any books of mariboli’s to download. I try to read fiction as often as i read self help. I do at least 30 minutes a day of exercise. I’m never going to be mr. olympia but when the cold weather kept me from exercising i noticed things effected me more. and just today i had a conversation where i tried to explain to my mom that she deserves better treatment from some of the people in her circle of friends and family. I explained that until you believe you deserve it and will insist upon it nothing changes. I hope i got that right. I’ve only recently started understanding it myself. But i felt i would be disappointed in myself if i hadn’t taken that opportunity to try to share what I’ve been learning from books blogs and good friends like you. Take care, max
Hi Max how lovely that you remind your mum how valuable she is in our world. I agree with you one hundred percent. We can’t see any changes in our outer world, unless they first happen in our inner world. And this means how we think and speak to ourselves. 🙂
Hi Elle; well, first where would i be without my great blogging friends like you who have taught me how special i am and that i deserve this. But it was still a little weird having the discussion with my mom. smile But i finally decided that it does me no good to get upset when i see or hear someone speaking to her disrespectfully but it would do me som good to try to build her up to where she understands it too. don’t know if it worked, but at least i felt less frustrated. Take care, max