I read this article today. I can't articulate how much it moved me. I am posting it to remind myself to read this every one in a while.....
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Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make
your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many
things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and
instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be
stress free and happy – we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today
we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we
will embrace change. Ready? Here we go:
1. Give up your need to always be right. There
are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to
always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or
causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s
just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a
fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question:
“Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?
2. Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your
need to always control everything that happens to you and around you –
situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers,
or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow
everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how
much better will that make you feel.
“By
letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go.
But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu
3. Give up on blame. Give
up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for
what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start
taking responsibility for your life.
4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk. Oh
my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative,
polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything
that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and
self-defeating. You are better than that.
“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle
5. Give up your limiting beliefs about
what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From
now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep
you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly!
“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle
6. Give up complaining. Give
up your constant need to complain about those many, many, maaany things
– people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed.
Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable
unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those
feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate
the power of positive thinking.
7. Give up the luxury of criticism. Give
up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different
than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to
be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be
understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.
8. Give up your need to impress others. Stop
trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like
you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be
something that you’re not, the moment you take of all your masks, the
moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be
drawn to you, effortlessly.
9. Give up your resistance to change. Change
is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you
make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you.
Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it.
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell
10. Give up labels. Stop
labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as
being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little.
Minds only work when open.
“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer
11. Give up on your fears. Fear
is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in
your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
12. Give up your excuses. Send
them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A
lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use.
Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we
get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that
99.9% of the time are not even real.
13. Give up the past. I
know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better
than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to
take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have
and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past
that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was
present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and
enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear
vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the
now.
14. Give up attachment. This
is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to
tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something
impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The
moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you
give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to
do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while
love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love
there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot
coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene.
You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things
without even trying. A state beyond words.
15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Way
too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live
their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live
their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to
what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government
and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice,
that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with
living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over
their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what
they need….and eventually they forget about themselves. You have one
life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially
don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.
