Should you follow your dreams or be realistic? It’s actually a yes and yes question because, it’s not about giving up what’s working right now and stepping into a whole lot of uncertainty. To follow your dreams means –

• having a pull motivation in place to power our actions and decisions today.
• And also to find that one key quality that makes that dream so special to us so that we can bring that level of satisfaction or excitement to everything we do today.

How to follow your dreams

Doing things aligned with what we truly desire creates a life free of regret no matter where we end up in life. And that’s why it is important to follow your dreams. So, let’s unpack how to make your dreams come true no matter where you are at in your life.

1. Get the map ready

It’s not reasonable to tell someone to quit their job and follow their dream of say, becoming an artist if they are struggling with their bills right now, right? Because everything has its priority and until the things with higher priority are in place, it’s not possible to give your undivided attention to something.

You know, how they say the best time to have a map is before you enter the woods. So, whatever your dream is, use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to create your map for reaching there.

Map out what all that might come up, everything that has to be addressed and in place before you can give your all to follow your dreams.

Have a system in place. Like, have enough money saved up to cover at least six months’ expenses and any other emergencies. And you truly don’t want to be worried about having a home base, or paying your bills when you are learning something new, or planning our the best strategy to reach your goals, do you?

But even while getting these higher priority things in place you can still follow your dreams and experience that kind of satisfaction today which we are expecting some time in the future. And broadly speaking, we can do this in two ways.

• First, using that goal or desire as an anchor to create a pull motivation for everything we do today.
• And second, by finding the key quality.

https://youtu.be/dfz8RwUF4ts

2. Create pull motivation

We can either be motivated by –

• getting away from something. Like, “I have to exercise to maintain my weight” that’s push motivation. We are pushing ourselves to get away from putting on weight. Or,
• we can be motivated by moving towards something. Like, “I need to exercise to enjoy that hiking trip later this year”. That’s pull motivation – the thought of what awaits us at the end of this pulling us towards it.

And which one do you think would be easier – someone pushing you going uphill or someone pulling you smoothly up?

When you follow your dreams., when all our actions and decisions today follow that map created using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, everything we do has a pull motivation.

So, use the Cartesian coordinate system to program your decisions for pull motivation.

It’s essentially about answering four questions to check how exactly that action, no matter how big or small, fits in with what we truly want in life. See its importance in the grand plan of things.

And so, it’s about what can you do now to make your dreams come true. And using that clarity to create intrinsic motivation – a pull motivation that helps us through all the challenges and setbacks that pop up from time to time.

3. Follow your dreams using key quality

Watch the video up top to know how to find and use this key quality to achieve your dreams.

I hope you found this useful.

The post How To Follow Your Dreams Without Quitting Your Job appeared first on Nandyz Soulshine.

The reason little changes work is because they are powerful enough to bring the compound benefit of big results, but do not push us too far out of our comfort zone by setting the bar low. And doing something that will change your life doesn’t always mean sweating the heck out of it or overhauling everything. It’s sometimes all about bringing into focus what we are already doing so that we are more consistent and more intentional about them.

5 Microhabits that will change your life

When we do something consistently, it becomes more or loss of a habit. So, bringing some of the things you already do into focus potentially turns it into a habit. And these 5 microhabits are what will help you shape your life in a powerful way. 

1. Do nothing

Do absolutely nothing, like ‘daydreaming staring into space’ nothing. How it works is, when we do nothing that requires any kind of processing information, the DMN or default mode network in our brain kicks in. And this is closely linked with memory and creativity coming up with creative solutions to our problems.

And as psychologist Dr. Scott Bea says,

“When you take breaks, you can solve problems in fresher ways than you could if you just kept your nose to the grindstone. Our brains are like any machine: They need rest.”

Sitting in front of the TV or scrolling on the phone doesn’t count as a break. If sitting still without anything to fidget feels uncomfortable, get some fresh air. Go out in nature if possible.

If not, do something that requires the least amount of thinking, something mindless that will make your mind wander.

2. Minimize regrets

One of the biggest things that will change our life, make it a more satisfying one, is minimizing the number of regrets we collect over time. Sometimes they are things that just skipped our mind

And even though we might not realize it, unfinished tasks take away from how much we can focus on the things we are supposed to be doing.

It’s called the Zeigarnik effect – our mind’s tendency to forget things we have finished and stay fixated on the unfinished ones because our brain doesn’t like open loops. It distracts us from the things that we need to do.

What psychology research done at Florida State University suggests is simply to make a to-do list. The mere act of planning when and how to do them completes the loop and frees up our attention.

But if you are a lists person you’d know there’s more to it. They not only help us stay organized and know that everything’s covered… reducing stress in our life, but reviewing last week’s or last month’s to-do list we can also get a clear understanding of where our priorities lie or which parts are getting neglected.

Click here to watch the 5 keys to overcome procrastination and show up consistently

3. Less is more

We have only very limited time and energy to spend in a day and to make sure that it’s enough for the things we really value, the things that will change your life, we need to remove all the clutter.

Identify all those things that are no longer working, goals or connections we have outgrown or situations that are distracting us into a direction we have no wish of going, anything that’s cluttering up our life because that creates unnecessary stress taking away from the time we could have spent enjoying life.

Everyone’s life situation is unique, so you would know best what would work for you, but one thing that works universally is to ask why every time.

Asking why is important because it not only clarifies whether saying yes or no to something, committing to something would fit in with what we want from our life, but it also helps us finish the things we begin.

When we are convinced of the value of something in our life, it becomes easier to come up with creative solutions to problems & stay motivated to see the thing through.

For the next 2 things that pay off when are more intentional about them, watch the video at the top or head over here.

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The post 5 Things To Do That Will Change Your Life In 6 Months appeared first on Nandyz Soulshine.

It’s a life skill to know when it’s worth taking something personally and when it’s just a waste of time.

Because even though it’s kind of a knee-jerk reaction to be sensitive about an unfair comment or criticism, being able to see the situation for what it really is, before responding, makes the difference between being in control of our choices and feeling perpetually stressed out.

So, let’s get straight to the strategies that show how to not take things personally too quickly… create space between feeling hurt, offended, angry… and responding effectively.

1. Look for value

First, let’s take those feedbacks or criticisms that push our buttons – the “no offense” comments or hurtful opinions.

See, we interpret the world around us through what we learnt from experience, through memories of what we know to work. And these become a kind of reference library for us and is what we call mindset.

And so, when someone says something hurtful to us as a feedback or opinion, if it isn’t constructive, it has got nothing to do with us. It’s simply their view, their interpretation of things through their own issues, biases, and experiences.

The key to how not to take things personally dealing with destructive comments is to remember that it’s not our duty to comply with others’ filtering system in life. If it isn’t in sync with your own values and priorities, treat it the same as you would something rude shouted from a passing car.

Because feeling hurt, allowing something to reach our heart and hurt us means we are giving that person a lot of power, assigning a lot of value to them. 

Click to see how to declutter your mind and focus on the things that really matter

2. Practice the pause

To process all the information and input it receives, our brain tries to find similarities and connections… that’s generally how we usually make sense of the world around us.

These shortcuts mean we like some people instinctively while certain situations make us feel uncomfortable even without any obvious reason.

When we take things to heart … things that might not feel like a big deal to others…. that’s what’s happening.

It’s the expectation we assign to that situation which gets our hackles up.

It might be right or may not be, but the key to how not to take things personally too quickly is to hold back from acting on what comes to our mind first.

This does 2 things.

1. It gives us time to think of the credibility of that source, is it really about us or more about their own issues, and also if it’s a misunderstanding or a pattern with that person.
2. We get time to choose our response. Do we call it out or is it simply not worth the time and energy?

3. Be comfortable with yourself

This is about when we have already taken something personally and it’s affecting our mood, sleep, and peace of mind. It’s about the times when we come up with that perfect zinger hours, sometimes even days after the moment has passed.

Research has shown that 47% of the time we are thinking of the past, future, & what others might be thinking. That means it’s totally normal to ruminate, to think about what something might have meant.

But even if we can’t control how our brain is wired to work or how other people behave, we do have control over how we respond.

The key is to stop looking for external validation and getting comfortable with who we are because it’s the anxiety of what people think of us that sometimes makes everything feel like it’s about us.

When we internalize our sense of worth, when we stop depending on other people to validate what we think is true we become less vulnerable to what others think or say about us. And we essentially become mentally stronger.

This is what makes us more resilient to stress.

Click to see which habits make us emotionally stronger

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Worrying can be used to stay prepared and make us feel more in control of our present and the future. But the key is to focus our attention on the right things. Worrying can be good if done right.

To manage stress better and stop feeling overwhelmed, it’s important to stop worrying without a specific goal in mind, just letting our imagination run wild. Some simple tweaks in how we approach the situation, even in our mind, can make all the difference… bring confidence and peace of mind.

1. Worrying can be good with an end-goal in mind

According to researchers like Dr. David Hamilton, our brain can’t really differentiate between reality and something that only exists in our imagination. That’s why we wake up sweating & with a racing heart from nightmares.

So, worrying about what might happen in the future, letting the imagination run wild just generally thinking all that might happen … only makes us live through those difficult moments without any guarantee that these will ever really happen.

Worrying about the future can be good if we stop worrying aimlessly and actually have an end goal in mind… because that means we are focusing on one thing. And that becomes a sort of goal for which we can come up with an action plan. This helps us stay prepared, feeling more in control both of our present and future.

Click here for small habits that make you emotionally stronger

2. Focus on the right thing

There can be things out of our control that we can’t stop worrying about… like the P-word going on right now. Knowing we can’t directly do anything to stop it, doesn’t really stop us from worrying.

See, even when something is out of our control, there always are other related things that we can influence or change to make the final outcome be more in our favor. It’s like sending a rocket into space to deflect a meteorite from its path so that it doesn’t crash on earth.

Just like that, to stop worrying about things out of our control, we shift our focus to working on those things that will influence how the situation will affects us.

We are worrying, but about the right things, the right way… the productive way. We are essentially adding our voice to the outcome.

Click here to explore life-changing wisdom over the ages on success, mindset, & moving on 

3. Worrying can be good if you make it count

We don’t just worry about the future, we think and fret about things that happened in the past, worry about how things looked when we did something, handled things a certain way and what that means for us in the present.

Say, for example, you agree to do something you didn’t like but later realize that it has become your ongoing responsibility. Now simply ruminating, regretting, and worrying about it won’t change things. What will make an effect though, is taking our lesson from it. Thinking about it with an intention to find a way up and out.

Like, making it a point to say yes carefully from now on. There’s a free worksheet for that, for learning the art of saying no, which you can use to find the right approach for you.

But the point is, thinking about what happened in the past is helpful when we do it with an aim to learn how not to have it repeated in the future.

Worrying can be good when it teaches us something. That’s what’s called experience – adding skills, not just years, to our life.

Worrying can be good or bad depending on how it’s done, like procrastinating. If we can get to what’s really making us push something to later, we can procrastinate intentionally to get back to work refreshed & recharged. It’s a good way to be self-compassionate & productive at the same time.

Click here to know how to use procrastination to stay motivated

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How to declutter your mind

1. Habit of mono-tasking

We multitask all the time because they make us feel busy & productive.

But, according to American Psychological Association, multitasking makes us less efficient because it fills our mind with too much activity. And the more complex these tasks are, the longer it takes for our brain to switch from one thing to another.

“A lot of times, being busy just means

you’re in a state of being functionally overwhelmed.”

– Ryder Carroll, the creator of Bullet Journal Method

So to declutter your mind, replace the habit of multitasking with the habit of focusing on and finishing one task before moving on to the next.

Write down if something pops up in your mind. If it’s important, it can surely be done next without distracting you from the current task.

Click to see 3 success habits that help optimize our time, energy, resources

2. Getting bored is good

Schedule some white space in the day. Like, try taking a walk without your headphones, or spend time without your phone doing nothing.

The idea is to simply let our mind wander without filling it with inputs. It’s a great way to practice mental detox and declutter your mind every day.

Research has shown that small bouts of boredom are good because they give our brain the space it needs to make new connections between the information we already have. Basically, come up with innovative ideas or creative solutions.

And so by inference, it can be a very helpful tool to handle stressful situations.

So get into the habit of scheduling time to let your mind wander and scheduling helps because it really becomes difficult to stay consistent with anything unless we intentionally set some time aside for it.

Watch why finding your reason before making a choice is a powerful life skill

3. Think in writing to declutter your mind

Now at any given point in time, there can be a lot of things going on in our head.

What then happens, is it create a kind of mental confusion and we lose track of our priorities, lose focus. 

According to a study done at the University of Rochester Medical Center, journaling can boost our overall well-being because it helps us organize our thoughts & understand our emotions better.

So, the habit of writing down tasks and ideas is one of the best ways to declutter our brain, organize your thoughts and stop overthinking.

When we write down the thoughts crowding our mind it helps us kind of practice mental minimalism. Letting only those thoughts take up space that are relevant to us, to our goals in life.

4. Habit of prioritizing

When we are clear about what’s relevant and important for us, we can focus on things based on their priority, and so use our time and energy more efficiently. Because decluttering life means being intentional with how we spend our time, energy, attention.

“Life is C between B and D”

– Jean Paul Sartre

So making intentional choices with our time, and how we use our mental energy, focus, attention becomes so much important because they decide which direction our life takes.

Click to know what makes habits last and all the effort meaningful

5. Declutter and organize

The science behind the idea that an uncluttered and organized physical space helps us think more clearly is explained in an article published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

It basically shows that when there are too many things vying for our visual attention, it limits our ability to focus and process information.

So, aiming for as much unoccupied space or white space as possible, essentially getting into the habit of being an organized person can help unclutter your mind… When you spring clean your life, it helps declutter your brain too.

But another kind of clutter is all those pending decisions and tasks that we have been putting off for one reason or another. Procrastination, the I-will-do-it-later-bug can be one of the biggest sources of mental clutter, stress, and overwhelm in life.

But there are some key things that help overcome procrastination routinely & show up every single time. 

When you clear mental clutter, it helps control your thoughts and stop worrying unnecessarily. Mental minimalism, being intentional about how you spend your mental energy, focus, attention helps declutter your mind and practice mental detox routinely.

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The post 5 Simple Habits to Declutter Your Mind and Improve Clarity appeared first on Nandyz Soulshine.

Finding your why is important because when we start with a why, try to understand and be convinced of the reason first for doing anything, it becomes easier to stay motivated, overcome obstacles, and achieve our goals.

And by the end of this video, you will know exactly how to use this to

• take control of your life,
• become more efficiently productive, and
• how this helps boost confidence.

So basically, why it’s a life skill that you shouldn’t skip.

A. Finding your why to take control of your life

Everything works more efficiently when you understand how it works. Getting clarity about what works for us and what doesn’t, what we want to include in our life and what we can do without is crucial because it helps limit those uncomfortable moments that we find ourselves in because we simply couldn’t say no. Why? Because well, “it’s complicated”. 

But when you are clear about and convinced of the reason, when you find your why before making any choice, decision, commitment,….it helps you take control of your life more effectively letting only those things take up space that are aligned with what truly matters to you, aligned with your values, and how you want to feel.

“Is it something that I would choose to do without any kind of influence from anyone?”

If you ask yourself this each time you make a decision, commitment, choice…it empowers you to keep your life uncluttered, enjoyable, and meaningful.

Click to see how to do this for meaningful success in life

B. Start with why to optimize productivity

To be efficiently productive, it’s important to stay consistent, show up every time. And for that we need to stay motivated.

Now, motivation isn’t something easy to come by on a daily basis, especially when we have to do something simply because there’s no one else to do it….when the reason for doing the task doesn’t speak to us.

So when you have to do something because you can’t avoid it, start with breaking down the reason, simplifying it till it means something to you.

• Why are you in this in the first place?
• How would the result make even a small difference in your life?
• How would it feel to have accomplished it, have it done?

Those questions will help you find your real why – the reason that will relocate your source of motivation to within you, help you show up every time and stay consistently productive.

Click to see how you can stay consistently productive

C. Why you need to find your why to boost confidence

According to psychologists, 2 things influence our confidence.

1. External – what people think of the qualities we have and how much they appreciate us for those. Basically, external validation.
2. Internal – what we think of our own qualities, our value of self-worth.

Now, we don’t have much control over how people think or what they do, but we do have control over how we think and what we focus on. And when we decide to focus more on this internal influencer and make the external one less powerful, it boosts confidence.

Finding your why, why you do some things better than others, why you react or respond the way you do to certain things is important because it gives you a better understanding of your unique blend of qualities and areas where you can change and grow.

And when you know you have the capacity to become better, do things better if you want to it makes you more confident in yourself, in what you can do.

Success, happiness, joy, fulfillment – they all depend on our intention, how we want to approach the opportunities, knowledge, and everything else in our life. 

Finding your why before making any choice or decision is an act of self-love. And self-love is just one of the viewfinders that help us focus our time, energy, and emotional resources in the right direction.

Click to see how you can use self-love for meaningful success in life

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It’s important to learn how to set healthy boundaries because they allow only those things in, that we are comfortable with….whether it’s allowing people into our home or a question of extending our compassion and tolerance beyond a point.

It’s not about trying to change how others think, speak, or behave but about our choices and decisions. Healthy boundaries uncomplicate our life to a great degree by letting others know clearly how we expect to be treated and also what kind of response they can expect from us.

Why set healthy boundaries

When we set clear personal boundaries

• It helps us value our own opinions and not get bullied into doubting our choices.
• We stop overextending and compromising our values for someone else.
• They bring the clarity to say yes or no with full conviction…and also take a no for an answer with the same level of maturity.

How to set healthy boundaries

Here’s how to get started on the right foot when setting healthy boundaries in relationships or life in general.

1. Strong foundation

The very first thing to do is understand that boundaries look different for every person. But one thing that’s common for every one of them is, they are meant to set clear ground rules and the reaction in case these lines are crossed.

We don’t say this is how I expect you to behave. Instead, we say clearly this is what I am willing to do or accept and if you don’t respect that, then I’m going to walk away, or leave the conversation…or whatever feels right to you for that situation.

Healthy boundaries are all about making those choices and lines clear which you don’t expect to be crossed and also what would be your decision if that happens. It’s totally up to the other person which option they decide to choose.

2. Finding the right place to start

Get clear about what’s important to you, what things go against your values? Which situations usually make you feel you are always doing things everyone else wants and never what you want?

That’s the place to start. Choose the one making you feel resentful or angry the most. Find out what would make you feel more in control in these situations, what would be acceptable to you. Those are your boundaries.

But the key is to start small.

Let’s take an example which if you have lived long enough, will connect with you. There are people who know we value them for some reason or other, and they take it as a go-sign to start making decisions for us or make hurtful comments justifying it as tough love.

So this would be a place where boundaries would do us good. But, remember the key is to start small.

Click to see why self love is important for meaningful success in life

3. Creating clear boundaries

One of the most important steps is voicing our boundaries, clearly communicating them to others. Because otherwise they just remain wishful thinking – I wish people would stop taking me for granted, or I wish they would stop talking like that to me.

I know, it’s easier said than done because there’s always the fear of conflict, coming across as selfish, or pushing people away.

But, if you are convinced of the importance of that boundary in your life, it will give you the initial push needed to dash past these barriers and voice your decision.

Click to see why finding your why before making any choice can upscale your life

4. Maintaining boundaries

All this effort of finding the areas that need urgent attention, figuring out the best approach, and stepping out of our comfort zone to voice them are short-lived if we don’t follow through.

If we are not consistent about respecting & standing by our own boundaries, it shows the people we aren’t that sold on our own decisions, our boundaries are open for negotiation, and so it’s okay for them too to keep ignoring these ground rules.

Like we take care of physical boundaries to keep us safe from intruders and unwanted people, personal boundaries to need our attention to keep them in good condition.

Maintaining them is as important as knowing how to set healthy boundaries.

It may be because you are a compassionate person that it feels tough to stick to your decision when the other person makes such a strong case for their need, it might feel selfish, or they might make you feel like a nag for bringing the point of appropriate boundaries again and again…and so you want to let this be an exception.

But, before doing so, we need to be very clear whether it’s really our compassion making us treat this as an exception or are we our bad habits popping back up.

Setting healthy boundaries takes effort and so it’s important to not let them fade away if we want to efficiently use our time, energy, & resources.

Click to see how you can build habits that last

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We set goals to have a sense of purpose and stay focused. Now, there are 2 key elements to achieving goals in life –

• The qualities of the goal itself, and
• The other is connected to the goal setter, you.

The first one is the technical part of goal setting like setting SMART goals, SMART as in specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based. In other words, the moving parts of goal.

And the second key that makes goals achievable is what you do to make these moving parts work smoothly.

This includes what I call the 3 Ps of achieving goals. Let me show you how this works.

Achieving goals in life using the 3P technique

The first P is ‘Phrase’, The second P is ‘Plan with a twist’, and the third P makes all the moving parts of achieving goals, stick together smoothly.

1. Phrase

Choose a phrase that would guide all your actions and decisions for that particular goal.

For example, if you choose “focus and commit” as your phrase before making any decision or taking any action, you would check whether those are still focused on the goal.

If they are, you commit to see them through even if it demands you stepping out of your comfort zone. It’s tough love, but puts you on the shortest route to achieving your goals.

The first P ‘phrase’ is kind of a compass that keeps correcting your course to keep you on the right track.

Click to see how finding your why can keep you motivated consistently

2. Plan (flexi-plan)

Create an action plan with some review and wriggle space to realign with our goal from time-to-time.

The “flexi” part makes sure that we make the most efficient use of our time and energy because –

• we may sometimes find it better to change the pace based on how well or how not well we have been able to stick to the plan.
• Sometimes we lose the motivation to follow through and the goal slowly slides down our priority list.
• Also, whether we consciously realize it or not, our priorities, likes, and dislikes change over time before reaching the finish line.

So, chalking in review and realign time makes sure we don’t waste our time and energy on goals that have lost their conviction or priority for us.

3. Practice is important for achieving goals in life

Practice but with an aim to turn actions into habits, and so essentially effortless.

When there are things we have to do repeatedly to reach a certain goal, they usually turn boring after a while. And as we keep losing interest, it becomes harder to stick to those tasks.

So, find that one action which has the potential to unravel the whole effort and focus on turning that one action into a habit. Because habit in simple language is effortless action.

Click to see what makes your habits last

Have faith in your abilities and trust the process because everyone reaches their goals at different speed. Whatever your journey looks like, it shows the best that could be done with the tools you were given – your unique blend of qualities and circumstances.

So keep your focus on the process. That’s what takes you closer to success.

Click to see which 3 success habits can optimize your time, energy, and resources

The post How To Make Achieving Goals In Life Simpler – The 3P Technique appeared first on Nandyz Soulshine.

Why self care is important? Because, when you show up for yourself mind, body, and soul…and treat each of them with equal importance, that’s when you truly take care of yourself. 

So if it’s that important, why can’t we seem to make time for it? 

Well mostly, it’s a busy schedule that doesn’t leave time even to breathe or that it would seem selfish when so many people depend on us.

What is self-care really

Self-care is not just for stress relief but way more. It’s like regular maintenance of a car by its loving owner, Treat your mind, heart, body like that, like a prized car because it’s cars like those that make it to the vintage category in superb condition.

Now that I have shown you the why, let’s get into the how of it – how to include self-care in your life meaningfully to be able to approach everything with more clarity and be more productive.

Basically, become resilient to life’s challenges as and when they come.

1. Taking care of social needs

Feeling connected is one of our basic needs. It’s about doing things with people who make us feel good.

It can be as simple as staying connected over mail with someone living far away or it can be spending meaningful time with family and friends who are supportive, respectful, and positive in their approach to us.

Nurture these relationships by committing realistically, appreciating others’ efforts, and taking responsibility for your actions. And in the process, create a safe space and a dependable support system.

Go to a fitness or hobby class, or join a group. The idea is to spend time with people who share your interest.

Because social interaction helps our brain to move from focus mode to diffuse mode, relaxes it enough to make connection between unrelated concepts, and so come up with creative solutions. So basically, it diffuses a situation which could potentially be stressful later on.

Click to see how you can make time for things that truly matter

2. Physical wellbeing

Take care of your body inside and out. Detox, relax, soothe, tune-up and everything else to get a better sense of overall wellbeing.

Our body is the only tool we have that makes all other types of self-care even possible. There’s a reason why the mind-body-soul connection is such an important part of everything we do.

Go for a walk, opt for the stairs instead of the elevator, go for a run, to the gym or do yoga whatever gets you moving. We are built for movement and that’s what increases the feel-good chemical in our brain.

Do whatever makes you feel de-stressed, energized because it’s all about managing stress and it’s side effects for our body.

3. Mental self-care

It involves doing anything that makes you happy, takes you into a different zone, gives those overworked parts of your brain some rest that we are constantly using while in the go-go-go mode.

If you feel you don’t have time for that or don’t want to add another thing to your to-do list, choose the least hassled part of your day. Tune out everything and do that task with full awareness. Stay aware of every movement your body makes for that action. Consciously note every detail you see, what do your hear, smell, feel with your skin, and may be even taste.

Congratulations! You practiced mindfulness for a whole 5 minutes. It helps our mind relax, reboot, and refocus with a fresh new energy.

4. Reconnect

Connect with your source of hope and guidance. Mindfulness exercises work beautifully whether you are a believer or not in a supreme power.

This is basically about getting in touch with your values, what guides your thoughts and actions. If you are a believer, make time for spiritual introspection. If not, connect with nature & appreciate the beauty around you.

According to studies done at the Department of psychology, Lewis-Clark State College, engaging with natural beauty improved gratitude and life satisfaction. Basically, it puts us in a zone where we tend to look at things from a point which gives us a clearer picture, a better understanding of what’s happening and where we need to be.

This introspection and understanding becomes the source of calm, stability, and balance in our life.

Working on getting more emotionally resilient, maintaining healthy boundaries, taking time for introspection and realigning your life to your changing likes, preferences, needs….those are the cornerstones of true self-care.

Click to see how finding your why brings more balance in life

5. Emotional self-care

Emotional resilience, the capacity to bounce back from setbacks and getting back to life effectively comes with practice. To be truly there for others and to give your best at work, it’s important to be in a healthy emotional space.

Say yes and no for the right reasons, to keep complications in life to a minimum.

Set time aside to jot down at least one thing you are grateful for each day to remind yourself of the good things in your life, and to find what might be bothering you.

Personal boundaries play a big role in managing our emotions by keeping those situations to a minimum that could become tense or stressful. So it’s more of a preventive action, one that saves you time and effort on stress-relief later on.

Click to see how you can do this effectively

The work we do, our equation with family & friends, our physical psychological emotional needs, or our connection with our source of hope – when we treat these with equal importance that’s when we truly take care of ourselves.

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The post Why Self Care Is Important & How To Use It To Be More Productive appeared first on Nandyz Soulshine.

Does a healthy relationship boost your self-esteem or does higher self esteem increases your chances of having a well-balanced relationship? It’s actually like the question whether the hen come first or the egg.

Sometimes we find it tough to take risks even when there’s a fair chance of success, or stop ruminating about something past, or handle criticism even when it’s constructive. And the key to managing these better is to work for getting a higher value of self-worth.

Roadmap to higher self esteem

Practical tips for higher self-esteem and a more satisfying approach to life:

1. Handling external influences

Let’s first tackle the obvious point, how to handle external things that boost or hurt how we feel about ourselves. Things like social comparison, financial struggles, relationship problems, and other such external influences make a big chunk of the things that have power to ding our self-esteem.

Now, we all have problems, some have it way worse than others, but what helps is to understand, things that aren’t really meaningful to you on a deep level can only affect your self-worth for a short while.

And the second thing that helps is mindfully choosing a stack of values to base your worth on not only because those qualities are generally valued, but because you find them meaningful on a deeper level.

And the key is to put only those things into your cart which you have control over, the things you can change.

Click to see how finding your why before making any choice can boost your life satisfaction

2. Your inner voice

Okay, so now that you have chosen your stack of values, get a realistic picture of where you are at. Sit quietly, introspect, and get a clear picture without any judgment.

Write down 5 points each of your strengths and weaknesses.

The list of strengths will act as a confirmation of your self-worth & buffer for your confidence while you figure out an action plan to deal with the list of weaknesses. These weaknesses, when worked on, are going to act as your stepping stones to reach higher self-esteem.

The key is to simply focus, commit, get started and small step by small manageable step make a big impact on your self-esteem that’s going to show now and beyond.

3. Emotional resilience for higher self esteem

There will be times when you still feel bad about things you know you shouldn’t or fall into the comparison trap because we are hardwired in a way to instantly react in a certain way to certain things. So, it’s totally normal.

Allow yourself those moments of painful emotion, let it out, because holding it in would cause it to build up and come out even more forcefully later.

But be aware of when to stop and how to move on. This will train your brain to better handle emotions in tougher situations. 

Click to see how you can show up for yourself consistently mind. body, & soul

When we accept that there are areas where we can change, improve, grow…and that we are even ready to be uncomfortable to work on filling out those chinks…it boosts our self-esteem. We start respecting ourselves more.

The post Higher Self Esteem: 3 Quick Practical Tips To Boost Your Self-Worth appeared first on Nandyz Soulshine.