Some people get stuck.  We get stuck on the past and the problems and the lies we tell ourselves about ourselves.  If you get stuck, the first thing to do is to realize that you are stuck.  You stop growing when you’re stuck.  Being stuck feels like anxiety, sadness, that feeling of I don’t like this but I don’t know what to do about it. As soon as you feel this, acknowledge it.  Say to yourself, “Self, I’m stuck.  I don’t want to remain stuck.  I love you.  I completely love myself and I accept myself and all that goes with it. But I want to move forward, and I know that you know how to get us unstuck. Please proceed.”

(What? You don’t want to talk to yourself?  Its cool, I do it all the time!)

Sometimes we only talk to ourselves by the negative things in our heads, and that is something that’s very hard to control.  Instead, make time each day to tell yourself that you are good, you are love, and that its OK that you’ve made mistakes in your past. Its OK that you burnt your breakfast and had to throw it out.  Its OK that you broke the trim on the garage door because you got to close to it when you were backing out.  Its OK that you forgot the cans of cat food on the hall table and the dog chewed them to pieces, and its OK that you put the cereal in the fridge with the milk.  Too many times we beat ourselves up over silly things.  If you find yourself talking to yourself this way again, stop and imagine what you would say if your best friend told you her story about how she had done these things.  Would you berate her for this?  Would you tell him how stupid he was for something that insignificant?

Of course you wouldn’t. So why then do we tell ourselves these things?

Its very important to love yourself, forgive yourself and take care of yourself.

Its not being selfish. Trust me on this one.  I used to not take care of myself.  I have a family and I took care of them first, always.  But then somewhere down the line my body started to tell me that I couldn’t keep this up.  I needed to take the time to take care of me.  Its not something that will happen overnight, but with practice and time, you will learn what your body needs.

Mine needs healthy wholesome foods, no junk and no processed foods, I feel terrible when I eat that stuff!  I also need to visit my chiropractor on a regular basis.  If I don’t, I don’t feel as good as I know I do when I go.  I also need exercise, I feel better when I get up and move, and I need water, not so much coffee.  I also have recently found out that I really feel better when I go for a massage on a regular basis.  (Not a light back-rub, but a deep tissue massage from an actual massage therapist.)  My muscles get really tight, really fast, and if  skip a couple massages, I really feel it.  And tight muscles are much more prone to injury.

I also take the time to read, I love learning new things and this stimulates my mind.  I also have started taking the time to write.  It feels good to take the thoughts from my mind and translate them into something that others can read, and hopefully learn from as well.  I read some fiction once in awhile too, and that helps the imagination continue to function.  “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; and if you can dream it, you can become it.”  William Arthur Ward came up with this quote and its very true.  You are who you think you are, so make sure you think that you are an awesome person!

All in all, when I take the time to take care of myself, I don’t feel stuck.  I don’t feel lacking in anything.  Sometimes, we look at these things as nonessentials in our lives, because they do cost money and need to be budgeted for.  But if you look at the things you end up spending money on because you don’t take care of yourself, you will find that doing these things will actually save you money in the long run.  So you’ll feel better, look better, and you’ll have more money!! What could be better than that?

If something is important to you, you will find a way to do it.  And when you have a passion in your life, and things you believe in, it actually makes you a healthier person physically, mentally, and emotionally.  If someone sits around a lot, they tend to become depressed, thinking about everything that is wrong.  If instead you can focus on what’s right, you’ll feel a lot better.  Being stuck feels like the opposite of feeling better.  It feels worse.  It feels less than.  NO one wants to feel that way, and you shouldn’t have to.

What are things that make you feel better?  One study showed that people who volunteer their time to help others are happier than people who don’t. http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/science-of-happiness/  And other studies at Harvard University show that being a happier person can help you live longer and healthier lives!   http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/magazine/happiness-stress-heart-disease/

What’s something you can do for yourself today that will help you become a better you, and a healthier you? I’d love to hear your ideas, or what you’ve done that has made you feel better in the past.