Why Not Now?

Photo by Kelly L

Why not now? To learn, to grow, to change what you do not like about yourself, to meet positive people, to change the direction of your life, to stop beating yourself up, to stop talking badly about yourself, your life, to start loving yourself, your work, your relationships, to start doing what used to scare you, to start challenging yourself, to stop believing in the negative voices in your head, to start living your own life, to start doing things on your own terms, to start facing your fears, to stop comparing yourself to other people, the time is now. You can start right now, right where you are. You can start doing new things right now. You can start living again. You can start loving again. You can start feeling good about yourself again. Why? Because there is no special time to start anything. There is no special time to live your life.

To live well, to enjoy your life, you must live well every day. Yes, every day. Do not postpone your life. Do not postpone your living. If you can’t live now, when are you going to do it? Do not postpone your happiness. Make yourself happy every day. Do not postpone treating yourself with love, with respect, and with dignity. Do not do it. Because you do not know if you are going to be here tomorrow. That is why you should always live your life every day. Live it fully.

According to Og Mandino, “Live your life as if today is your last day.” Is that what you are doing? Are you living your life to your own fullest? Are you loving yourself? Are you making yourself happy? Are you facing your fears? Are you pursuing your dreams? Are you loving people? Are you treating yourself with love? If not, ask yourself, “Why am I not treating myself with love? What am I afraid of?” Be honest.

If you are not comfortable with your answers, then change how you treat yourself. Change it. If you do not change it, no one is going to do it for you. Or it will change you. Remember, you are not living for other people; you are living for yourself. You are in the game for yourself. You are doing what you are doing for yourself. Always self first.

If you do not like what you are doing to yourself, then change it. If not, you are not going to be happy with yourself. Do not forget that happiness is very important. So, if you are not happy with yourself, ask yourself why? Because a life without happiness is boring, is nasty. Living a happyless life is like living in hell. I have not been there, but I know for a fact that living in hell is nasty.

Yes, there are issues everywhere. But do not let them get into you. You are your own healer when everything is working against you, when the world is against you, when the people you trust are against you. You are the driver of your own life. You are the master when it comes to taking over your life. You are the boss when it comes to creating the direction of your life. No one, but you. Do not forget that.

And also do not forget that you are your own destiny. Whatever you are doing right now is creating your future. You are responsible for your life, for your care, for your future, for your failures, and for your destiny. You are. Not me.

Do not wait for anyone out there to come and take responsibility for your own mess, for what you have done to yourself. It won’t happen. Unless you do not know what you want for yourself. Unless you are done with life. Unless you are no longer interested in your dreams. If you are, then clean up your mess. Take responsibility for your life. Hold yourself accountable for your life.

There is more to life than you think. There is more to life than you are getting right now. Do not let where you are right now decide where you are going. Do not let your present condition decide your future. Because, with hard work, with focus, with determination, your future is going to be better than today.

Do not give in to fear. Follow your dreams. Do whatever is necessary to make it happen. Do not forget that without work, dreams are useless. Action brings things to life.

Trust people, believe in people, but do not wait for them to make your dreams come true. You are responsible for making your dreams come true. Because they are your seeds. Do not let them die. Nurture them. Do not depend on people. If you do, they are going to disappoint you. Period. Why? Because you are the only person on this planet who will take you seriously, who will take your dreams seriously, who will take your life seriously. Whatever you want, go for it!

“Spend A Day Listening To Your Self-Talk”

Photo by George Milton

To hear yourself, you must pay attention to what you are saying to yourself. Stop saying negative things to yourself. If you do not know what to say to yourself, just say, “I am love myself.” That is good enough.

Pay attention to your words. They are powerful. They can hurt you. If you do not want your own words to hurt you, attention is key.

Here is why:

According to Edith Eger, “What you pay attention to grows stronger. Spend a day listening to your self-talk. Is it full of “I should,” “I shouldn’t,” and “yes, but”? Do you tell yourself, “It’s my fault,” or “I don’t deserve it,” or “It could have been worse”? Replace these messages of guilt or shame with a daily practice of kind and self-talk. As soon as you walk up in the morning, go to the mirror and look at yourself with loving eyes. Say, “I’m powerful. I’m kind. I’m a person of strength.” Then kiss yourself on the back of your hand. Smile at yourself in the mirror. Say, “I love you.”

Yes, love yourself. If you do not have the courage to love yourself, to say, “I love you,” then you have got a lot of work to do.