Hello and welcome you beautiful being. I’d like you to take some time to explore the negative perceptions you may have of yourself. Think about the things you pick on yourself about when you look in the mirror, or when you catch your mind wondering and you realize you are being critical about yourself. Once you have identified some of your not to so desirable thoughts about yourself, challenge theses thoughts to see if there is evidence supporting the thought to be true.

Taking the time to see if there are any facts that support our beliefs can really put things into perspective.  For example, you may think you’re a failure, but you have degrees and accolades behind you.  You may think you’re overweight, but yet you weigh much less than most people around you and your BMI (Body Mass Index) is appropriate.  You could be complaining about your health, yet you have the ability to breathe, move, and think on your own.  Not everyone has that ability that some may take for granted at times.

Identify a thought about yourself and you’ve asked if this thought is really valid, or if you are just being too hard on yourself.  At times there is no evidence to support the thought as truth.  In that case, move on.  Abandon that thought, think on something better, and back that new thought up with a positive action.  Any action small or big will shift your focus and change your energy, thus bring you closer to your best radiating self.

Now if the thought is valid and there are facts that back the thought up, instead of criticizing yourself and nothing happens, other than feeling worse, make it into a constructive critique.  Or better phrased a constructive observation.  You do this by identifying the “problem”, though I’d rather say “the challenge”, and asking yourself what are some things you can do to shift the challenge. Even if it starts with changing how you speak about the challenge.  You can begin to speak about the thought with hope, constructive, forward motion, and progressive speech.  Then make a commitment to do one thing that can shift this thought, “the challenge”, or the negative perception you have of yourself to and for the better.

Whether the perceptions where valid or not, be encouraged to identify specific actions you can do could do to better yourself.  One exercise that can help is a meditation you can do on your own right now!  Here are the steps:

1. Close your eyes
2. Take a deep breath, breathing into the base of your spine as you expand the abdomen
3. Slowly exhale through the nose and continue this way of breathing
4. If a thought enters the mind, do not remain on the thought, no dwelling, or pondering where the thought came from, or why you are thinking it.  Place no attachment good or bad to the thought, just let it go.  You can even say “oh this thought, I’ll think about you later”, and then come back to focusing on the breath.  Doing this for a while centers you and quiets the mind.
5. Now imagine, with detail, using as many senses as possible, what your positive, highest self looks and feels like. What are you doing, where are you, who is around or not around, what are the scents, what are the physical sensations?  Use all your senses to envision and embody the feeling energy of this better self. I encourage you to take a moment to do this.  For better results do this daily.  This process will allow you to being to see yourself in a brighter light, as well as give you the space to cultivate the self love you need to make those positive changes, however big or small.  It’s so easy to focus on what’s wrong, let’s shift and focus on what is right!  Love and Light.  Stay bright!”

Roxanne Christian, MT-BC
CEO & Founder of Live Love Life Music