4:01 p.m. - 2008-03-24
NEVER, EVER, EVER GIVE UP
INNER BEAUTY, OUTWARD CHARM.
"Don't you just love it when a beautiful woman, a movie star, television celebrity or a model tells us that the real beauty secret is finding your inner light? No kidding! I have tried that and while it is true that I am happier, I still don't look like them!" quote by Marianne Williamson.
Of course, if you really think about it, finding some fulfillment within is obviously going to make you happier, less stressed and open to more possibilities. And that is going to make you look better. "Learning to love ourselves exactly as we are - gives us the motivation to move forward"...., whether in eating healthier or doing exercise or just finding some stress relief in doing things we enjoy.
There is a difference in self esteem and self confidence. "Self esteem is how we really feel about ourselves in our soul." Do we love ourself, do we believe in ourself, do we feel worthy of love from others and the best that life can offer? Self Confidence "is what Spirit has prepared to help us face and overcome challenges of life. "It's our attitude, experience, knowledge, wisdom, optimism and faith." Hopefully we gain our self confidence during our childhood from our family and our surroundings. If we have not, then we need to learn how to give ourself what we need.
"If you think you can, you can. But if you think you can't, you're right"...quote from Mary Kay Ash.
You can't buy self confidence but you can borrow it. Every opportunity or challenge requires "being thoroughly prepared and looking the part." Wearing the right outfit exudes self confidence. Learning all you can about the challenge gives you the feeling of being in "the know" of it. If you act as if you are confident, you will become so...even if it is only for the moments you need to present that mood.
We all want to be like someone else, the best at cooking or decorating or writing or being sociable. We are so hard on our own selves. We deny ourself the pleasure of success because we are too busy being critical of the one thing we may have done incorrectly. The one ingredient we should have used in the dish or the one extra pillow we should have put on the bed. We sabotage ourselves.
How many of you have written the perfect blog? And just as you are ready to put it on your page; you hit the wrong button or the computer goes blank and you lose all that hard work. And you are furious with yourself and call yourself stupid and get all upset? I bet you have all done that at least one time...because I have.
"Did you know that Amish quilters will deliberately add a mismatched patch to each quilt to remind themselves that no one is perfect?" We need to remember that we should strive to be first rate and our best is always good enough."
So I have been posting all kinds of information from Simple Abundance for weeks. I bet some of you are still not feeling it at all. I bet some of you are in a depressed mood and think this can never work for you. I bet you think there is something very wrong with you because this just doesn't make any sense. You're right....for some of us; it takes longer. For some of us, we have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward. For some of us, it might be one step forward and three steps back....
For some of us, we have to fake it to make it so.
You have two choices. You can acknowledge that you are in the midst of a depression whether it lasts for months, weeks or just days. You can wallow in the misery and then decide if you want to keep on trying. You can go to the comfort drawer and pull out the little treasures you stashed inside and indulge yourself. Then go to bed and wake up with a fresh new attitude.
Or...
You can just put on a clean outfit, put on some makeup, take a walk or take a bubble bath and push your way through it until you find something joyful in your day. It all goes back to your attitude. Are you going to give up and stay miserable or are you going to look for something to be grateful about today?
It's all up to you. No matter which choice you make...tomorrow is another day.
It will be filled with decisions, choices, good and bad. It might be a good day and it might not. But every day will offer a hidden gift if you are willing to search for it.
