You’re probably too hard on yourself. It’s much easier to make your way through the world if you love yourself. Perhaps the greatest struggle we all face is the effort to accept and love ourselves despite our many flaws. This may take a little work, especially, if you consistently criticize and put yourself down.

To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance

~Oscar Wilde

Love yourself more each day with these strategies:

1. Give yourself an earnest compliment each day. Have you ever felt like you needed a compliment? Go ahead and give yourself one! Think about all your great qualities and congratulate yourself on one of them. There’s no reason to wait for someone else to get around to saying something nice. Give yourself a nice compliment right now.

• Look in the mirror and tell yourself how awesome you are… because you are!

2. Make a list of your accomplishments. You’ve accomplished plenty of great things. Make a list of all of them. Be creative and give this exercise some thought. You’ll find that your life has been more impressive than you realized.

• This exercise is very powerful and scary to do. While evicting impostor syndrome out of my life last year, I put together a values book that included listing my skills and accomplishes. What a shift in how I felt about myself and I continue to add it regularly.
• Did you make the list?

3. Eat in a healthier manner. Take better care of yourself by making some changes to your diet. We could all use a little improvement in this department. You know which foods are healthy. Add a few of them to your diet and drop a few of the less healthy foods.

• Show yourself that you’re important. You wouldn’t feed junk food to your child or beloved pet. Give yourself the same level of importance.

4. Support a cause you believe in. Spending time on something you think is important is a great way to show yourself that you’re a good person. You’ll feel better about yourself and put a smile on your face.
5. Be grateful. Appreciating what you have makes it easier to love yourself. No one enjoys being around a complainer. Think about your life and make a list of the things and people that fill you with gratitude. It’s surprising how much of a great life you already have.

• Before you get out of bed in the morning, start appreciating everything around you.
• Give thanks for the talents and gifts that make you a marvelous person.

6. Forgive your past self. Sure, you’ve made some mistakes and probably done and said a few awful things along the way. But that period of your life is over now. Why drag the past into the present? You can make a fresh start each day. Let it go.
7. Make one small improvement. As great as you are, you can be even better. Make one small change that will enhance your life in some way. Maybe it’s exercising for a few minutes each week or calling your mom once a week. Show yourself that you can grow and become a better version of yourself. Try these easy ideas:

• Pay all of your bills on time.
• Be more patient with your family.
• Be on time for work each day.
• Do five pushups each morning.
  

8. Do one thing each day makes you happy. If not today, when? There’s no time like the present to begin enjoying your life. Start taking those guitar lessons, finally get a pet, or volunteer at the local food bank. Start loving your life and yourself.

9. Avoid people that drag you down. Odds are that at least one of your relationships is poisoning your life. It might be a friendship, a romantic relationship, or a relationship with a family member. Value yourself enough to avoid negative people and relationships.

You have many wonderful qualities that you’ve been overlooking. Believe that you deserve love from yourself and those in your life. A little self-love will enhance every part of your life.

Show yourself some love by surrounding yourself with awesome, supporting women entrepreneurs. Join our FREE Unstoppable Success Group today.

Stay Unstoppable,

Recognize Your Power and Change Your Life

Embracing your inner power will change your life.

Marianne Williamson’s infamous quote "Our Deepest Fear" begins with the words… "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

Let’s look at the word POWER, it might actually release some of that fear to live the life your desire.

Purpose Optimized With Extraordinary Results™

Your life is your creation. Do you know anyone else with a life exactly like yours? While you may not experience the life you desire right now, you perfectly created your current life.

What this suggests is that you have the power to create a new life for yourself and do it just as perfectly.

Recognize your power! Claim it! And use it to forge the life you want!

Ask yourself, "Am I Optimizing my purpose to create my ideal life?"

Follow these strategies to effectively use your power to change your life:

1. Take full responsibility. The first step is to take full responsibility for all the good and challenging things in your life. If you believe that you created them, it’s easier to believe that you can change them.

• Even if some of the things you wish to change aren’t really your fault, it is still 100% your responsibility to change them. Who else is going to do it?
• Taking full responsibility is critical if you want to change your life. This was a big turning point in my life. During my recovery of putting my identity together, I would need to take responsibility for my life. Trust me… this can be downright scary. No more blaming others or circumstances for your life.

2. Look at your past successes. Notice all of the good things you’ve accomplished in the past and how you brought them to fruition. Acknowledge the influence and the power you had in your successes.
3. Look at your past "failures." Notice the influence you had on things that may not have turned out the way you wanted. Maybe you inadvertently created a challenge or didn’t take positive action. Take responsibility for your part in the unfavorable result.

• Learn to view failing as a positive (though unpleasant) outcome. What have you learned from past "failures" that can help you eventually succeed in your endeavors?

4. Set new goals. Many people live life like a feather blowing in the wind, with no true direction. It’s important to choose your destination. Leaving things to luck and chance is choosing not to use your power at all

• Consider that a sandcastle never spontaneously rises from the beach. You have to intentionally build a sandcastle for it to materialize. Luck and chance will never get the job done reliably.
• Reinforce your goal. Each day, rewrite your goal and imagine how you’ll feel when you accomplish it.

5. Focus on your priority

• It’s easy to get distracted. Look at your actions… are they align with what you want. Are your actions in contradiction with your goals… your vision?
• Reinforce your goals daily, and they’ll become a priority over all the other noise in your head.

6. Measure your progress. It’s important to constantly measure where you are against your goals. If possible, measure every day.

• If you’re trying to earn more money, how much money did you earn today? If you’re trying to release weight, how many pounds did you release?
• You can’t make the proper adjustments if you’re unaware of your progress.
• Take a step closer to your goal each day, even if it’s a baby step. Every day, do something to move forward toward the life you want. Ask yourself, "What is the one thing I did today to create the life I desire?"

Do you see how you’ve been using your power all along, but perhaps not for what you really want? And you will continue to use that power, whether or not you realize it.

The real question is: will you choose what you’re going to create?

The alternative is to rely on luck and circumstance. Life is short, so claim your power to create the life you want to live.Set a few goals that will change your life and use these steps to make them happen.

To Your Unstoppable Success,

As a family oriented person, your loved ones are of utmost importance to you. You spend your days ensuring they are well taken care of. That’s just what you do, and you’re happy doing it.

But is that commitment to your loved ones causing you to neglect yourself? How many times have you bypassed your own desires for someone else?

It’s completely admirable for you to want to take care of your family and friends. But it’s important to balance that with self-care. You may think it’s impossible, but it’s really easier than it appears.

Take a look at some guidelines for balancing self-care with caring for loved ones:

1. Be creative with quiet time. If you think inside the box, quiet time means time alone without distractions or responsibilities. If you think outside the box, you’ll be able to paint a completely different picture.

• Instead of foregoing your spa day for babysitting duties, why not take your little one with you? Get mom and daughter pedicures or 2 for 1 back massages. My daughters loved “spa day” with Mom. That way, you’re taking care of your loved one and getting well-deserved pampering for yourself!
• Suggest that you and your spouse do movie night at home instead of at the cinema. You’ll get the best of both worlds. A favorite movie with warm and cozy blankets!
• Try scheduling your quiet time when everyone else is asleep or otherwise occupied. You’ll be tempted to get some chores done, but resist the temptation! What’s not done today can be done tomorrow.

2. Get the rest you need. By far, the best way to be of use to your loved ones is to be fresh and rested. When you neglect your rest, you’ll tend to be cranky and impatient.

• Being there physically may not be enough for some people in your life. They can tell when you’re doing it out of routine. That’s definitely not the impression you want to give!
• Avoid feeling guilty about taking a break. There’s no reason to worry while you’re absent. The world can manage to stay intact for a short time while you’re gone.
• Do you know that you can get some of that rest while having quiet time with your family? Cuddling on the couch with your daughter while she watches cartoons is the perfect scenario!

3. Share your needs with your loved ones. The only way your family can understand your position is if you share it with them. Give them a chance to hear from you so your selflessness can be reciprocated.

• Explain to your family members that you like to feel appreciated. They’ll realize that although you enjoy doing things for them, you’d still like to get some recognition.
• Once they’re aware of your needs, you no longer have to worry about satisfying them on your own. With that scenario you can comfortably focus on their needs while they focus on yours.

It’s easy to feel guilty for taking time for yourself, knowing that those special people need something from you. But have you ever stopped to consider what may happen if you’re unable to be there? Not paying enough attention to yourself could result in you being ineffective as a support base.

If they’re truly your loved ones, they’ll understand your needs. Communication is a two way street. It makes a world of difference if you can learn to balance your own needs with those of your loved ones.

Stay Unstoppable,