3 Ways you can Be Your Best Self in 2014

“The first step toward being loved is learning to love what you see when you look in the mirror”-Tadahiko Nagao.

Often times, we are supportive of others and their needs yet we fail to affirm ourselves when we find ourselves in dire circumstances. When you love yourself and appreciate yourself as a person, it’s easier to be a good friend to others and recognize when others are good friends to you.   Your happiness is mostly based on how good a friend you are to yourself.

 Our self esteem and self-confidence both lie in recognizing our self- worth. To make lasting changes in life, you need to transform unsupportive thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and emotional habits that you have developed overtime. This can be mainly achieved by using the power of your mind or tapping into the Spirit of Love.

“God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind”-2 Timothy 1:7.

According to a National Science Foundation study, an average person thinks about twelve thousand thoughts per day. From the moment we wake up we are creating our realities through our thoughts. What we think about is mirrored back to us in our experiences. So when your thoughts are negative your reality is the same and vice versa.

This inner voice in your head focuses on your failures and ignores your strength. When you lack self confidence it does damage to you, your relationships, career, business and finances. You compare yourself with other people thinking they are smarter, happier and more articulate than you. Not loving yourself also makes you harsh on yourself when you make mistakes and set impossible standards.

 So here are three ways you can tame that inner critical voice in your head:

1.Self Awareness: Become aware of your thoughts and how it affects your confidence level. Monitor your thoughts and if possible write them down as they occur. Take an inventory of your thoughts and replace self- defeating thoughts with high powered thoughts. For example instead of saying, “Nothing I ever lay my hands on works” rather say “That’s another way not to reach this goal. Now I’ll come up with a better way of accomplishing it”. This is called re-framing in Neuro Linguistic programming.

 2. Retrain your mind: Shift your language through affirmations. Power affirmations requires that you affirm what you want, not what you don’t want. Turn your negative statements into positive ones. One destructive habit is that we are always telling ourselves what we don’t want to happen instead of what we do want to happen.

 3. Visualize your best self and a more confident you.

Below is an excerpt of “ A Woman of Worth’ affirmation by “The Catalyst”

WOMAN OF WORTH AFFIRMATION

I am a woman of worth

I am a woman of Honour

I am Grateful for Breath and Life

I arise, I shine, I am Aware of my Essence and I know who I am

I am Beautiful, Charismatic, Charming, Gifted and Bold.

I am Compassionate, Selfless, Generous, Kind and Trustworthy

I am Prudent, Patient and Responsible

I am Wealthy, I have Power and Authority, I am Humble

I am a Provider, Protector, keeper and Lover.

I have Dignity, Wisdom, and Discretion

I am Discerning

I have Knowledge, Insight and Understanding

I Sense, I See and I Seize every Opportunity

I Make the Right Choices; I am always ready for a Great Future

I am Enterprising, Productive, Prosperous and Succeeding

Everything I touch Increases in Value

I Excel and Prosper in Everything, in ALL that I Do.

I Live my Dreams and Visions Purposefully

I enjoy and Live Every Moment in Love and at Peace

I see Good in ALL Things

I Hear and Speak only of Wonderful Things

I am Respected Everywhere I go

I am Content and satisfied

I Deeply Enjoy my Life and Relationships

I Love ALL and I am Loved by ALL

I Experience a Wholesome Life Balance and Personal Power

I have True Happiness, Peace, Tranquility and Joy

Begin to see yourself as God sees you. Accept God’s love for you and learn to love yourself in that manner.

About the Author: Ify Oluku is a Peak Performance Coach for Career Women and Entrepreneurs. Her mission is to help people transform their lives and breakthrough their financial limitations so they can create lasting wealth and passionate lives.