Are You Good to Yourself?

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You are the only you that there is. Be good to yourself.

Too many of us get caught up in the world around us, and as such tend to neglect ourselves. We are concerned for our coworkers, friends, family, and loved ones long before we are concerned for ourselves.

Are you good to yourself?

The irony of this is that when you are good to yourself, you are more capable of being good to others.

Because of the many mixed messages of our world, it is all too easy to misunderstand the line between selfishness and selflessness. Doing for ourselves, we are told, is selfish, because we should be putting others first.

However, what we neglect is that we need to care for ourselves before we can care for anyone else.

We tend to ignore self-care. We do not do enough things to treat our minds, body and spirit to the best we deserve, and we allow ourselves to get out-of-shape, physically, mentally and emotionally. When you do not be good to yourself, you actually lessen the ability to be good to and do good for others.

Five simple ways you can be good to yourself

Here are five ways that you can be good to yourself, with very little effort.

Think good thoughts of yourself. When you follow I AM with negatives, this reinforces ways that you are being less than good to yourself. Think good thoughts, like I am strong, empowered, a good person, abundant, and so forth.
Take time for yourself. Read a book. Play a game. This does not require a lot of time, but a few minutes every day to do something purely for yourself is a necessary action for recharging and refreshing the mind, body and spirit.
Eat well/exercise. I am not advocating for a radical diet or a huge shift in exercise routine. What I am suggesting here is that you eat only when hungry, and eat things that make you feel good – whether it’s raw veggies or a bacon cheeseburger. Get up, move around, stretch periodically to get the blood flowing and relieve tensions.
Learn something new. We are constantly evolving, constantly growing and shifting and changing. Actively seeking to learn something new, be it grand or minute, expands the mind and further empowers you.
Smile and laugh. Find something every single day that makes you smile and laugh. Laughter opens you up to positivity, and feeling your best. Laughing and smiling express joy, and joy opens us up to more good for all around.

None of these ideas require vast amounts of time or energy, but practicing them actively, every day, can make a huge difference in your ability to be good to yourself and be good to others.

Be good to yourself in the now

Right here, right now is the only reality that is true. Past is often colored by nostalgia and hindsight analysis, and the future is open and full of potential and possibility. In this moment, consciousness creates reality, and you are you. Be good to yourself, because you are the only you that there is, and this moment is your reality.

It is not selfish, and it can open you up to all kinds of opportunities.

Finding positivity is not hard, but it does require action.

Knowing that when you are good to yourself you take nothing away from anyone else, you can take actions to treat yourself well. When we are good to ourselves, we give ourselves more tools to be good to others, and ultimately we empower ourselves. When we feel empowered, we frequently spread that feeling to others around us, and as such can build more positive feelings. We can use the positive feelings this generates to dissolve negative feelings.

When we take away negative feelings, we open up space to let in positive energies, and that is something we can be grateful for. Gratitude leads to happiness. Happiness is the ultimate positive attitude. Positive attitude begets positive energy, and that is always a good thing.

This is the two-hundred and fifty-fourth entry of my Positivity series. It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog and spread the positivity.

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