Feeling good and living well ultimately comes down to choices. How you care for the body that carries you through the day, the consideration you put into connecting with others, whether you choose to be of service to a group of people, and the contribution you choose depends on the decisions you make every day. Believe it or not, it doesn’t only involve you. By making a conscious effort to live a life of service and fulfillment you impact the people you interact with every day.

So what if you put some intention behind those actions?

If everyone made conscious choices for themselves and invited others to experience these joys humanity would thrive! By making conscious choices for ourselves while considering others we have the potential to grow happier and healthier, together.

5 Ways to Impact Others

1. CONNECT

Support others

When you support others in their work, life, or personal journey you create a healthy and safe foundation. This connection is powerful because it allows you to grow as a person while helping others do the same; creating an endless amount of possibilities. So PLEASE let your friends and loved ones know that you believe in what they are doing and that you’ll be there for them through it. Sometimes it isn’t implied simply because you are in their life, sometimes it does need to be said.

Explore your interests

Remember doing sports as a child and all of the fun you had interacting with your teammates? Being an adult doesn’t have to take that fun away. Get to know others who enjoy the same sport, past time or activity as you. Expand on your hobbies and invest some time into developing your skills and understanding together. Spending time with people who can relate to you and your interests is a great way to build friendships.

Disconnecting from the virtual world

Put down your phone, close the laptop for a while and connect with those around you. At bus stops, in elevators, while you’re standing in line at the grocery store you have the opportunity to meet someone new. All new things bring with them the potential for the unknown. You may form a relationship or just learn a valuable lesson from each other. Look up and open your eyes to all the wonder around you.

2. BE ACTIVE

Daily intentional movement

Your body should be celebrated every day because it truly is a miracle. All of the dreaded movement, such as exercise or walking up multiple flights of steps, should be viewed through the eyes of gratitude. Each day make a conscious effort to get a morning or evening stretching in. Reward your muscles for how hard they are constantly working for you by treating them with relaxation and replenishment.

What activity makes you happy?

Think about what kind of movement makes you the happiest. If you’re an athlete it may be the preparation for your competition or hitting the gym. Others enjoy running or taking a walk with beautiful scenery. Personally I absolutely love dancing and make sure I do a little bit each day. Whatever movement makes you feel alive and grateful be sure to prioritize time to do so. Improve your mood with an exciting activity.

Long and short term benefits

The benefits of exercise are physical, mental and emotional. Along with keeping your heart healthy with cardio and building strength with weights, you are boosting your energy levels and reducing your stress levels. Those weekly workouts start to add up into a happy and healthy lifestyle. Finding an accountability partner or group creates an atmosphere that you look forward to every week. When you commit to your goals with others it builds a strong bond both in and outside of the fitness world.

3. TAKE NOTICE

Practice mindfulness

Every day that you wake up is a blessing in itself, yet with busy lives, it’s easy to take it for granted. How often are you aware of your breath and the miracle of life? How often are your thoughts where your body is, in the present moment? Make a conscious effort to notice daily habits that contribute deeply to your day. For instance brushing your teeth in the morning, getting into the shower with clean hot water and having a home where all of this takes place. Say thank you every day, for everything.

Thoughts and feelings

When you take the time to notice your thoughts and how they make you feel it saves the trouble of worry and stress. Getting familiar with your mind is the start of a better relationship with yourself. As the relationship grows and gets deeper, practice letting go of all that is weighing you down. The more you practice being aware of emotions the more enjoyable life becomes.

Practicing gratitude

Gratitude is known to amplify happy thoughts and positive circumstances. By practicing gratitude for all of the good in life and the lessons the bad taught you, the doors for great things ahead are opened. Expand your gratitude beyond your personal life and into the world around you. Appreciate the sky with both clouds and stars, be aware of the trees and water surrounding you and consider how much nature contributes to your life.

4. KEEP LEARNING

Learning through experience

A favorite outlet of mine is reflective writing about the day, how I’m feeling and what I’d change next time. Pick up a notebook and write down how you’re feeling or what you’re currently involved in. One day you can look back and be humbled by your mental growth. Or maybe even help someone in a similar situation. Continue to remind yourself how far you have come by triumphing the easy and difficult experiences.

The power of a good read

READERS ARE LEADERS! Whether you are a leader on a team, a leader in your business or leading your life in the best direction possible reading will get you there faster. Understanding the perspectives of others helps us avoid making similar mistakes and gives insight into another person’s struggle. Try swapping out a Netflix show for a 30-minute reading session this week.

Allowing the wisdom of others to teach you

Listen to those who are willing to offer loving and caring advice. Don’t judge them if they are older, and especially if they are younger, because everyone experiences life at a different pace. Stay open-minded to those who are willing to help. You may be humbled and able to avoid some mistakes in the future.

5. GIVE

Be kind

Being kind to others is the most inexpensive way to make the world a better place. Treating people the way you wish to be treated is just as contagious as a negative behavior toward others. The choice is always yours and it’s often much simpler than you make it out to be. It could be holding the door open for someone, saying hello to a stranger or wishing someone a beautiful day. Keeping others in mind is a powerful attribute and echoes throughout humanity.

Give back

It’s important to remember where you were and how it felt to struggle. Giving back is one of the sincerest forms of gratitude and there is never enough of it. Everyone is at different stages in their life and there’s always a way to give back. Choose what you are able to give that can help someone’s life improve. Whether it’s clothes that no longer serve you, money if you have some to spare, a lesson learned from a tough road in your life, and most importantly give someone your time. Be present with those you are speaking or listening to, give them your undivided attention, and when possible give them peace of mind.

To Forgive is to give

Forgiveness means letting go of what is weighing you down, accepting what has happened and choosing to move forward. This does not mean to excuse whatever action or person hurt you, this does not mean that you’ll allow it to happen again. Forgiveness is an act of freedom. To forgive means to create more space in your heart for love and in your mind for understanding. When you forgive you give humanity another chance to show you their innate goodness. Always make room for that.

The Power To Improve Humanity

Imagine a world that everyone participated in these actions each day. Some small, some big, but everyone is involved. Imagine a world where the ripple effects of kindness, gratitude, forgiveness, honesty, movement, knowledge and love were felt on a massive scale. I don’t believe the world is too far off from living this life as a whole, but it begins with the choices made each day.

When you choose to open your hearts to others you grow in compassion and understanding. Through deep connection, an active lifestyle, noticing the world around us, giving to others and continuing to learn you are contributing positively to humanity. Making conscious decisions to be better versions of yourself allows you to collectively help the world become a better place. The happier you are the more you want to spread it to others, all while increasing our wellbeing.

Stay positive, keep moving, be open-minded, contribute selflessly, and build relationships. Remember, it’s good for your health and the wellbeing of humanity.

Have you ever become a version of yourself that is cringe-worthy to acknowledge?

Have you ever struggled to face yourself in the mirror and the choices you’ve made?

Have you ever lost yourself in someone else’s world?

Where do you even begin to pick up the pieces?

For me it started with the breath.

Sit With Yourself

My journey begins with a life shattering heartbreak, and by life shattering I mean the world as I knew it no longer existed. I didn’t leave because I fell out of love, in fact that’s what made it so hard. The love I felt for my partner was deeper than the love I felt for myself, that’s why I left. My intuition grew so loud that I could no longer ignore the call to walk away, even though I had no idea what life would be like on the other side. Something told me it was time to take the first step away from pain and into something new, even if I couldn’t see the next 100 feet in front of me.

Leaving a toxic relationship left me sad, fragile, and unhealthy. My soul knew I was meant for more, my mind couldn’t escape the life I had just left, and my body was too tired to make a move. After months of anxiety, depression, and essentially living in fight or flight mode, I knew a change needed to be made. There would be no divine intervention, or magical sign from above. It wouldn’t happen if I moved to another country to begin a new life. No matter where I went or what I did, the suffering would follow me, so I knew the change needed to happen from within.

I’ll never forget the day I decided to make a conscious effort to heal my broken self. Lying in a bed with tear soaked tissues and sheets that stunk like me, I finally asked myself “what can you do in this moment to get closer to something better, and away from this feeling?” The answer was to sit. Whether this is the right answer or not I’ll never know, but that was the answer that surfaced for me. I only had energy to change positions, so I went from lying down to sitting up.

It didn’t seem like much but it got my mind working in a different direction, a voice inside my head responded to my action by asking “now what?” Suddenly it hit me. In that moment I realized asking yourself the right questions will lead you to get answers that move you forward. Questions are what either fuel the rumination of negative thoughts or what fuel the momentum in a positive direction. I finally began to see that I did have some control over what I was going through, but I still felt overwhelmed by change. So the next thing I did was close my eyes and let out a huge sigh. I decided to sit and just breathe.

I didn’t know much of what meditation was, or the benefits, or even if I understood at that moment that I was meditating. But I was aware that the only thing I had control over in that moment was my position and my breath, so I went with it. What felt like an hour was most likely just short of 10 minutes, and when I opened my eyes nothing around me changed. I still felt sad, bitter, anxious- although slightly less; but each time I brought my attention back to the exhale something was different. It was in those brief moments that I wasn’t defined by my emotions, my experience, or even my physical sensations. In those tiny glimpses of a second that I could focus on my breath I became the awareness behind my experiences.

Just a glance at a different way of thinking, a simple taste of a slightly better perception, was all I needed to believe my life was in my hands. I started to see the next 100 feet.

And So The Self-Discovering Journey Begins

After that day I vowed to always come back to my breath, no matter where my thoughts take me or what my body wishes we were doing instead of being still. I promised I would sit with my discomfort until it revealed what it was here to teach me. I began to understand that I was operating from 3 different points of view: my past, my present, and my future self. So I decided to explore all of me and get to know my true self. In order for me to heal I needed to know who was controlling my thinking mind in the moment, and how to align it with my current actions. Getting to know my three selves allowed me to accept my painful past, come back to the present moment, and accept the possibility that I could create an even brighter future.

The more I began to control my mindset and attitudes the more my goals of health expanded. It was challenging to look in a mirror, put on clothes, and carry conversations with others because I was so deeply uncomfortable in my own skin. I started asking myself how I wanted to feel, rather than focusing on how low I was feeling, and that began my journey of 3 fold health.

Focusing on health as a three-fold process meant mental, physical, and spiritual healing. In all of these ways I was weak, learning how to use muscles that have been dormant for so long took patience and consistency. I started meditating and writing about my journey daily, while working out 3 times a week. Just getting to the gym on some days was the accomplishment, but as time went on I increased the duration of workouts and amount of times I exercised weekly.

Fitness became an outlet for me to express my strength, growth, and ability to push my own limits. I loved who I was becoming, not because I was putting more weight on or because I was finally using double digit weights, but because I remembered where I started. I knew I wanted to help others find this personal power within themselves, so I began studying to become a personal trainer.

The more I got to know my true self the more I understood I’m not alone in this struggle of self. And just like with the journey of getting stronger physically, I wanted to help others dig deep into their personal power of knowing and loving themselves unconditionally. The deeper I got to know myself the more passionate I became about sharing my knowledge, insights, and experiences with other women who were just as lost as I once was. This sparked the idea to pursue a career of teaching women the power of 3 fold fitness, so I began studying to become a mindfulness teacher.

That Person Led Me Here…

My solution was to forgive myself, accept myself, and become the greatest version of myself- because I owed that to me. I promised the fragile girl crying on the bed I’d grow into the person she needed most that day, a healer. In that moment I would have never believed it to be possible to be who I am today, sharing these messages, loving what I do all while creating positive ripple effects in the world. It’s not about knowing the outcome or having a set deadline for your aspirations. It’s about sitting with yourself, getting to know who that is, having the courage to release all that burdens you and start holding onto what brings you closer to your purpose. The more I aligned my choices, decisions, and daily habits with my future self’s lifestyle, the more I began to attract that way of being into my life. My mission is to help lead you inward to your personal power by opening up and sharing what led me to mine. I don’t believe we all have to hit rock bottom to find our true purpose, and my wish is that you have the courage to believe that whoever you are, and where ever you start, you are enough to make it happen today.

Tag: Learn

5 Conscious Choices to Improve Humanity