I’m not sure where you’re at in life right now – you might be on cloud nine or you might be at your wits end. If it’s the latter, I want to encourage you today with this quote I found – it spoke volumes to me, and I hope it speaks to you and encourages you to press on. May you find strength and hope in your journey today, and in the days to come.
©2015 Susie Lee
Living your best will change from day to day. It doesn’t mean having it all together or being happy all the time – it means doing your best under the circumstances that you’re in. Here are some ways I remove stumbling blocks from living my best. By no means is this an exhaustive list but it’s a start…
What are some ways you live your best? I’d love to be inspired in hearing from you!
©2013 Susie Lee
This week I’m going for it! The very thing I’m scared of, I’m going to do. Why? Because I don’t want to live in the ‘what ifs’ and have the fear of failure paralyze me. I want to stop making excuses of why I can’t and start giving myself reasons of why I can. I can, not because I’ll succeed but just because I CAN. And sometimes, that’s all the reason I need.
My advice to you this week is just “GO FOR IT!” The thing you want to do, the thing you were thinking about, the thing you’ve always wanted to do. Do it. Really. Don’t over think. Just do it. And next time, it might not be as hard. Now that’s living.
©2013 Susie Lee
If what you’re doing is not your passion, you have nothing to lose.
– Anonymous
The person who says something is impossible should not interrupt the person who is doing it.
– Anonymous
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
– George Eliot
All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.
– Walt Disney
What the mind can conceive, it can achieve.
– Napoleon Hill
If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.
-Milton Berle
The sky has never been the limit. We are our own limits. It’s then about breaking our personal limits and outgrowing ourselves to live our best lives.
– Anonymous
Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.
– Life’s Little Instruction Book, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Everything you want should be yours: the type of work you want; the relationships you need; the social, mental, and aesthetic stimulation that will make you happy and fulfilled; the money you require for the lifestyle that is appropriate to you; and any requirement that you may (or may not) have for achievement or service to others. If you don’t aim for it all, you’ll never get it all. To aim for it requires that you know what you want.
-Richard Koch
Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drowned your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
– Steve Jobs
In my home, I have a number of houseplants scattered throughout the windowsills, floor, tables and stands. I love having them around because they bring life and color into a room. But they take work. Every few days, I check to see if the soil needs water. Every few weeks, I give them plant food. And every few years, I transfer them into a bigger pot. Over time, I’ve learned my plants have preferences, some like to be in direct sunlight and others like to be in shade. I’ve also found they tend to flourish in health and strength when I talk to them sweetly… so I talk to my plants often.
Just like houseplants, relationships bring life and color into our lives. But it takes work. We need to put physical time, emotional energy and mental capacity into it. Without this effort, our relationships resemble an artificial plant – fake and lifeless.
Usually when people are dissatisfied with their relationships they may use the term the grass is greener on the other side. The ‘other’ side being happier, fulfilling and abundant. But I believe if they channel that energy in maintaining their own lawn, it would be just as vibrant and green too. But I understand that sometimes, it’s easier to compare and complain rather than put the work into it.
Every relationship takes a lot of work, sacrifice and love. Strong, healthy, long lasting couples and friendships don’t just magically ‘happen,’ they take time to cultivate and flourish. Here are a few ways to build your relationship:
Commitment
Make right choices despite how you feel
Accept them without trying to change them
Be there through the ups and downs – good times and bad
Choose to love them especially when the feelings aren’t there
Communication
Talk, listen and engage actively
Be honest with them even though it’s hard
Patiently figure out the heart of the issue in conversations
Accept and understand the other person’s point of view
Connection
Have fun together
Have common interests
Make time for each other in person, by phone or by computer
Physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological, or intellectual connection
Caring
Honor them by accepting who are
Celebrate the things that matter to them
Look out for their best interest and well-being
Meet spoken and unspoken needs (emotionally or practically)
Relationships are like investments that will grow over time. And the return will be substantial as it will nourish our souls and enrich our lives. It’s the connection we make with another soul that draws us deeper mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
May your days be richer and fuller because of the colorful relationships that bring life, love and joy to you. And in turn, may you paint a colorful canvas on someone else’s life.
© 2012 Susie Lee
Whenever you’re in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.
-William James
living your best 