Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change our world. ~ Jack Layton
Just because someone doesn’t carry their woes and heartaches on their sleeves doesn’t mean they don’t have any.
None of us gets through life without some battle scars, but too many times we use up our day, telling ourselves the same story, the very same one that’s been the cause of our stress, worry, fear and pain.
We’ve all been told life is short. And it might well be. But don’t ever let anyone tell you it’s too late.
Today is a new day and one thing hopeful people do is continue to nourish their hopes and not their sadness and pain.
Your life is a miracle and you’re an amazing expression of that miracle. Let today be the day that you shine a light through your tough times.
Forget rules just shine your light
It’s never too late to be your greatest self. People might tell you there are rules, but there aren’t.
The only rule is use your time wisely. To keep on choosing nourishing and uplifting thoughts.
Be willing to meet people who view the world differently so that you might see the world differently.
Be willing to be amazed, so you might discover how amazing you truly are.
Be willing to choose a new perspective so that your new point of view creates a new response in you.
Be willing to live the life you’ve always wanted to live, a life you’ll be proud of. And if you look and find that it’s not yet true, have the courage to persist, or start again.
Step out bravely
Feeling afraid is easy. Being brave is harder.
You are braver than you think when you’re willing to swop your life for that of another, even if you didn’t actually have to do it.
You’re braver than you think when you’ve gritted your teeth and kept on going when everything seemed hopeless and you felt lost and alone.
You’re braver than you think when every time life has knocked you down you’ve said, get up, get up…and you have. That’s shining your light.
Feeling appreciation
You might never know the impact you’ve had on someone’s life by the kind word or smile you gave so freely. Don’t underestimate the power of a sincere compliment or your undivided attention.
You don’t have to swim the deepest ocean or climb the highest mountain to make a difference.
Each moment of attention we offer to another is the breathing of love into that relationship, into life. Showing appreciation to another is living from your greatest, most hopeful self.
See how easy it is to shine your light, even through tough days?
Focused steps
Sometimes it’s going to take a scary step to have your desires fulfilled. But the good news is it only takes one step to begin moving towards your aims.
One small step.
Don’t be discouraged when things go wrong. Nothing is ever entirely hopeless.
Imagining the end result has been the easiest way for me to experience my desires. But it’s equally important to acknowledge things that happen along the way.
- Acknowledge you’re doing the best you can.
- Acknowledge that despite every setback, every loss, every dark day, you’ve survived.
- Acknowledge your victories.
Create a victory diary
At the end of each day write down your victories. However small.
There are days when, for some, just getting out of bed can be a victory.
Writing down your victories is a great way to build confidence and self esteem. And when the next scary step shows up, read through all your victories as a reminder of how often you’ve been successful. This prevents thoughts of fear taking a hold and stopping you from taking that scary step.
It’s all in your hands
Today belongs to you. It’s yours to live the greatest life you can imagine.
I can be really good at allowing my days to be stolen by busy nothingness. And I usually have the best excuses in the world.
Each excuse made is another brick in the wall of non-achievement.
Don’t do this.
Don’t throw your days away in a flurry of busy nothingness waiting for the timing to be right. The only right time is now.
The only thing holding you back is you.
Stop sitting back waiting for life to happen, hoping your dreams will show up and knock on the door.
You are amazingly capable of the most astonishing things, but if you don’t see that, it won’t matter. Just try and remember that none of us have forever, so stop wasting those precious seconds on self-doubt or criticism they just weigh you down and prevent you from finding your wings.
Encourage one another.
Love Elle
xox
23 Comments
Step Out Bravely. Can I use that as a post title Elle? Perfectly put. Four score and…wait I’m not that old…Five [or so] years ago when I worked for a spot in the city, I moonlighted from home because I wanted to “someday” work for myself. It took a long time for me to take that step. Experience-wise I was ready for years, I had years of growing startups under my belt, of working in marketing, design, management and trainer capacities but I was not brave enough to let go of the security of working for others. And to be frank, I was miserable working for others, being away from my family so much, but I was scared. And then one day I hit bottom, lost that security. As I wrote my resume, something I hadn’t done in 8 years, i realized how much I knew and how much I had done. It was time to make a decision, fall back into the same trap, the one that brought security or Step Out Bravely and have confidence and faith in myself to grow in a new way, to live the life I want. I’m happy to say today that i didn’t let myself fall into that same trap and I don’t regret it at all.
Hi Vanita, what a great testimonial to stepping out bravely. You are one courageous mama. Your story is wonderful to anyone standing on the edge and wondering whether to take that leap. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Hi Elle; You are so wise. There is never a perfect time and there never will be for most of us. You just have to start and do your best each day. Its like the song from elmo’s movie you have to take that first step. As an uncle I have watched a lot of kids movies. smile And I am generally a positive person, but I do my best to avoid negative people. I only watch or that is listen to one hour of news a day 30 minutes of local and 30 of national. I don’t spend hours reading the gloom and doom on yahoo. And face book isn’t all that accessible for a blind user so i generally only go on there to post status updates. But something people should know is it isn’t easy to focus on the positive and not look back to or stew over the bad things that have happened. One of the things i experience often is that people think I don’t care about things because I am not constantly rehashing my setbacks. And some days you will have to really work at it to find the sunshine rainbows or light at the end of the tunnel. It aint easy even if it looks like it is. So, be prepared to work every day at finding and keeping your joy. Thanks elle for the great posts and take care, max
Hi Maxwell, you are always such an inspiration. And we all appreciate your insights and wisdom on living life in the best way possible, right now. 🙂
Very inspiring post, Elle 🙂
We will always have the pessimistic, the negative ones and the down right painfully dark minds that are still around us, so it’s very important to try to surrounded ourselves with those who are looking up, those who are strong and those who always seem happy and willing no matter what.
I grew up with a loving mother, but who was also depressed and unhappy a lot. So that behavior really got into my subconscious mind as a child, and I literally had to “learn” to be happy.
This turned out to be a blessing, though, because it’s something that mention when I teach personal development to people. I usually say things like, if I could do it, I’m certain you can do it too.
Indeed, it’s never too late to improve.
Thank you for an inspiring post and happy new year to you!
Hi Sylviane, it’s great that you can see your childhood experiences as blessings to be used today in supporting others. Love that. 🙂
Hi Elle,
I love these thoughts of yours
“The only rule is use your time wisely. To keep on choosing nourishing and uplifting thoughts.
Be willing to meet people who view the world differently so that you might see the world differently.”
For me you ,Elle, are one of the valuable lot of people who have a different perspective on life.
And about maintaining a victory diary…what a truly swell idea!Great insight indeed.Do you actually maintain one Elle.Would love to know.
Thanks
Mona
Glad you enjoyed the post Mona and I thank you for your encouraging words. I do have a victory diary Mona, although it isn’t called that. But every day, actually every evening, I write in it my little victories for the day and also whether I practiced deliberate focus. 🙂
Hi Mona, went to visit your site today and really liked your gratitude quotes. But try as I would I couldn’t get past your captcha to leave a comment. It was so hard to read. Sorry. 🙂
Elle –
Beautiful post – i love the idea of a ‘Victory Diary’. And yes, how true that for some to get out of bed can be a real victory. Each of us should revel in our own victories- applaud ourselves when we make a small change AND surround ourselves by loving ,supportive, and inspiring individuals who are also working on becoming who they are meant to be. xxoo-Fran
Hi Fran, you are so right, surrounding ourselves with those who inspire and uplift is a great way to stay upbeat and grateful throughout our day. 🙂
Another excellent article, Elle !
Once again you have given me so many wonderful nuggets to enjoy and incorporate in my life’s journey. A journey made ever brighter by your pearls.
I believe that the awareness – that it is up to us, that it all does come back to us, that individually we are the source of our life experiences and we are the power to change those experiences – that awareness that you so lovingly and constantly remind us of – is the key to it all. Thank you !
Write on, Elle !
Hello Joseph, I absolutely agree with you. It all begins with awareness and then putting that awareness into practice which allows us to gently step into our greater self. 🙂
I agree hope can do wonders. It makes you brave too.. My whole life to date is a proof for that 🙂 Love this post!
How great is that Vinma. I applaud you that your life is proof of your hope. It’s wonderful to hear. 🙂
“You’re braver than you think when you’ve gritted your teeth and kept on going when everything seemed hopeless and you felt lost and alone.” – I love this!
I think we’ve all been there Jessica and weren’t in a place to give credit where it was due. We were too busy keeping going! 🙂
I love Vanita’s comment… I, too, really just wanted to branch out on my own but was so scared. I finally quit my job almost two years ago and have worked from home for myself since. It is slow going and I try my best to remain positive! I like the idea of a victory diary – when I feel discouraged, I think about all of the awesome things that have happened and that keeps me going!
Wow, kudos to you Cher. You know you’re my DIY hero, right? And on top of that here you are a profile in courage to boot. 😀
Love your posts. They’re always so encouraging (and dead on). It’s really the little things that we do for others that make the difference – both good and bad. Holding the elevator door for a mom juggling two kids goes miles in helping make her day better (or worse if you let it close in her face). Small acts of kindness can change someones day so much…
Hi Elaine, I remember when all right. Being that mum and juggling everything whilst trying to push doors with my hips! Great point about it being all the little acts of kindness – they mount up. 🙂
First time visitor to this blog, Elle. These are wise, bold and life affirming steps. What I like about them is that they allow people to build their sense of self worth and play in steps, and let them feel the emotion of failure without OWNING that failure.
Great post!! 🙂
Welcome Larry, nice to have you here and yes it’s true we most definitely need to remind ourselves the game of life isn’t a blame and shame game at all. It’s totally about using this amazing system of events and experiences as mirrors to our inner self so we can clearly be at choice as to what, if any, changes or tweaks we want to make. 😀