As my birthday approached last week, I began thinking about the meaning that we give certain events in our lives, such as birthdays. On this special occasion, we oftentimes take a mental inventory of where we are in all aspects of our life. We live in a world where we are always craving more success in life, career, and love, and we want to achieve our goals faster than ever. It becomes easy to say "I'm not where I imagined that I would be in life" or "I thought I'd have (bigger house, better career, children, etc.) by the time I was this age." The more that you tell yourself these kinds of stories about you and your life, the more anxious and disappointed you might become. Instead of inspiring yourself to achieve your goals and change your life, you might feel dejected and lose confidence in your ability to achieve your dreams.
The following four tips will help you to put everything in perspective and get a move-on towards having an amazing birthday and a positive outlook for the next year.
Remember that you are right where you are supposed to be. A series of events has led you to where you are right now, and the accumulation of all those experiences will lead to your next series of choices and actions. Trust that everything is happening the way it should and, although your journey may not look like your best friend's or sister's journey, it is the right journey for you.
Stop comparing yourself to others. It's super easy to compare yourself to others -- their career, love life, social life, looks -- but you will always come out short because you are focusing on what you don't have. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy as the more you focus on what you don't have, the more you feel like you don't measure up. Listen, we are all human and it's natural to notice what someone else has, but if you can catch yourself once you make that observation then you will be able to keep it all in perspective.
Appreciate what you do have. I mean, really appreciate it. Although it can be easy to focus on what we don't have, we often fail to attend to what we do have. Think about what's great in your life. Attend to it. Build on it and make it even better. Let that knowledge inspire you and build up your confidence in other areas of your life. Make a list of everything that you appreciate in your life, and read it once a day to remind yourself of your successes and how lucky you are.
Work towards what you want by attracting what you want. You can learn to attract more of what you want into your life today. The premise behind the Law of Attraction is that "like attracts like." If you focus on positive or negative thoughts, you get positive or negative results. To start, envision what you will act and think like once you achieve your goal. Then, start implementing that behavior right now. For example, if your ultimate goal is to find a partner that is loving and upbeat then you should focus on developing your own loving and upbeat self. If you act loving and upbeat to others and yourself, and you think loving and upbeat thoughts, always in a way consistent with your authentic self, then you will attract that goodness into your life.
I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below and, to all the July babies out there, have a wonderful birthday full of joy, appreciation and gratefulness!
xo
Erika
For more by Erika Nicole Finn, click here.
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