I sat down this morning to write out the top 20 things I have learned in my life so far, but after writing down four items, I started to cry deep, intense tears. I released the emotion and it felt amazing. Writing this blog reminded me of the pain and suffering I had endured to awaken to this wisdom.
This is my gift to you.
Here are my top 20 tips for living a better life.
Love yourself first and magic happens
This is the most important message you need to know to move from surviving to thriving in your life. Figure out how to give yourself unconditional love first, before anyone else, and MAGIC HAPPENS. True abundance, joy, happiness, and peace cannot enter your life without unconditional self-love first and foremost.
Know that you are good enough
Most of us have been programmed by society to think that we are not good enough. Most people I speak with say this internal message is the one that causes them the most discomfort. YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH. You are pure love and perfection just the way you are.
Create who you truly are
Your true self is within you bursting to bloom like a flower in spring. Unfortunately, a lot of people decide who they are based on what other people think they should be. They let fear stop them from being their true self. In my opinion, you will never experience the glories of being alive as a human unless you create who you truly are! Proclaim your beauty to the universe.
Find your passion and live it daily
When you allow yourself to be who you truly are, you awaken the energy of passion. You start to identify what it is that makes you excited and joyful. Immerse yourself in your passions and eventually you will make money from them. Live a life of passion and you very rarely go to "work." Find your passion and unleash it to the universe.
Remember that love is the answer to all problems
I am convinced that if you examine all conflicts on this planet, you will come to the conclusion that love was missing from the equation. When love enters the room, darkness, anger, and violence fade away. Lack of self-love is the root of almost all your suffering.
Every challenging situation is an opportunity to grow
When I look back on my life, I realize that the most painful episodes were also the greatest gifts because I grew so much internally as a person. Try to re-frame every challenging situation and find the positive. Face whatever it is head on and you will see how your light starts to shine even brighter.
Ride the waves of life and go with the flow
I had an epiphany one day that riding a surf board on the waves was a great metaphor for how to get through life. If you fall off, you regroup and get back on the board. When riding the board you need to remain loose, calm, and alert, but not stressed out or you will surely fall off. Go with the flow!
Understand that to be truly free you have to live in the now
I encourage you to read my last blog, "I Challenge You To Live In The Now For 30 Days." Living in the now is the only way to truly thrive. The now is all we really have.
Remember: whatever you can conceive and believe, you can achieve
Most of the barriers and limits you experience in your life are created by you for you. The only thing standing in your way of creating your dreams is you. Choose love over fear and allow yourself to dream big. Believe that you can create this dream. Take action and achieve what you desire.
Give to and serve others as much as you can
At the lowest point in my life, I volunteered at a soup kitchen and I became friends with a disabled brain injured man. Serving others is pure bliss and takes you away from your personal life stresses and connects you with a loving source energy. Our true purpose as human beings is to love ourselves first and then to love and serve other beings.
Find your personal gateway to your higher self/soul and use it daily
12 years ago I discovered that yoga and deep breathing transported me to a place within myself that I can't describe with words. You need to connect with your higher self/soul daily to stay connected to that source of energy.
Exercise, exercise, exercise
I was a pharmaceutical representative for two years, and have met with over 500 doctors in Western Canada. I have an inside view into what is making Canadians unhealthy, and I have worked the front lines of the busiest natural health products and supplements store in the country. Trust me on this one: exercise, exercise, exercise if you want to stay healthy.
Know that you can change how you feel and who you are
I here this a lot: "People don't change." This is so not the truth. People can change, but most don't want it bad enough so they never even try. It is too easy to keep it status quo. If you want to change your life, you will have to do things differently -- and that takes effort, discipline, and hard work. YES! You can change.
Allow yourself to bloom
You are from nature and are connected to nature. Your true nature is to flower, to shine, to express who you truly are. You can find your way from surviving to thriving, but you must do things differently if you wish to see changes in your life. You are here on this planet to shine your bright light and proclaim your beauty to the universe. Do it!
Find your power from within
The problem most people have is that they look outwards for their power, not within. They look to material objects like houses, clothes, and cars to feed them power, and this does not last or work. Go within or go without is one very powerful golden rule!
Surround yourself with family, blood or otherwise
We need our peers to boost us through the down times as well as celebrate the ups. Family is one of the main reasons life is so beautiful. If you are lonely and don't have a family, you can create one. Get out there and meet other people. One way to do this is pursue your passions and join social groups aligned with these passions.
Conduct your relationships with trust, loyalty, open and honest communication, unconditional love, compassion, empathy, friendship, and shared values and goals
I am amazed at how many couples I see being dishonest with each other and it makes me sad. Human unions can be so magical, but there must be trust and loyalty. No tribe survives without this.
Believe that nature has all the answer
I had a shoulder injury five years ago and I was forced to stop and sit in total stillness. I would sit by Stanley Park and the Pacific Ocean on a park bench and watch nature. I learned more in those three months than in all of my 17 years in school. Watch nature and mimic her in your own life. She will save you.
Water, nutrition, sleep, oxygen, and self-love make up the foundation of your whole health
Most people never give their body enough oxygen because they are upper lung breathers. Every cell in the body is oxygen deprived, and a huge percentage of Canadians live their lives dehydrated. And yet we wonder why so many suffer from anxiety!? If the body does not get what it needs, it sends you messages through headaches, anxiety, depression, stomach aches, etc., trying to alert you to the fact that something is not balanced. It all starts with loving yourself enough to learn how to provide yourself with what you need to thrive.
Recognize that the world would be a brighter, better place if everyone gave themselves and others unconditional love
Most people love with conditions. If you do this I will love you, or if you don't do this I will love you. Hug and pet a dog or cat to observe how to love unconditionally. Start by learning to love yourself unconditionally. Nothing changes until you do things differently.
I feel truly blessed to be alive and to have the ability to share this information with you.
Your friend on this journey,
Adrian Wesley