Smile. Breathe. And go slowly.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Many have asked me how I seem to be so “zen” all the time. It helps that I’ve been blessed to create my own schedule and to be selective of the type of work that I do.
It also helps that I’ve consciously chosen the types of people I surround myself with: my family, close friends, like-minded colleagues, and wonderful clients and students.
But the reason why my life is stress-free isn’t because of the environment I’ve created for myself. In fact, the environment is a result of the stress-free state of being and vibes I choose to emit.
I’ve found that all I need for a stress-free life are three things, along with a challenging but rewarding mindset that took me years to perfect.
I wanted to share these three things with you today: there are things you can do now, to let go of stress and bring in more joy, fun, and peace into your life.
- Watch your intake. I don’t only mean nutritionally – although this is important as well. I mean vibrationally overall. What sorts of things are you listening to? What are you reading? Who are you exchanging conversations with? Truth be told, I used to be bashful in saying this, but it’s quickly subsided: I don’t watch the news at all. In fact, I don’t read anything about politics, world matters, or anything that is subject to propoganda. I barely even know who’s our president now. I understand – to some this may sound ignorant. But to me, this is how I keep my sanity first and foremost. I get to choose who/what is within my energetic field. This is me, creating my world and experience (like building my own virtual reality game!). I’ve also removed meat out of my diet – why? It was messing with my ability to connect within. My meditations weren’t as clear, my focus not as sharp. Moral of the story: be picky about what comes in.
- Let go of pride. Self-esteem is great only to the extent that you feel good about yourself. But if the only way you feel good about yourself is if you compare yourself to someone else, or within the context of others, then it doesn’t serve you anymore. That’s when self-esteem mutates to pride. Pride exists only to the exclusion of others. Really consider this for a moment: pride exists only to the exclusion of others. When you remove the context of others, it becomes more about your self-confidence and self-esteem – which exist in dignity of your integrity. It’s got nothing to do with others, it has everything to do with you.
- Relinquish regrets. I don’t have any regrets in life. Zip, zilch, nada. If anyone asks me, what one thing do you wish you can redo/take back, my answer has always been nothing. I don’t look back and wish anything would’ve happened differently, or wish that I could take back difficult challenges. When we hold onto regrets, we can never be in the present moment; we’re tied to something in the past, like an anchor – which means we can’t set sail for somewhere else. If you could see this life from a higher perspective, you’d understand that everything you’ve experienced, everything you’ve done, has led you to be here now, to experience exactly what you’re experiencing now – and that’s your soul growth we’re talking about.
Once you’re able to successfully achieve all three things, you can keep stress out of your life for good by adopting just one thought.
When you take in the following thought, you can start by planting it deep inside. And so long as you come back to it once in a while, you’ll give it nourishment, which to your pleasant surprise, means you can watch the kick-ass tree blossom fully, giving you shade (from stress) for the rest of your life.
The seed?
The Seed of Unfoldment.
Let life unfold. You can allow your life to unfold the way it’s meant to. It doesn’t mean you sit back with your hands open wide for someone else to give you what you think you deserve in this life.
It means acknowledging that there is someone inside of you that knows better than your ego where your life is headed.
It includes trusting in your Higher Self, Source, Creator and God. It includes allowing the gifts of life and abundance to flow through your life. It means you can rest and kick your legs up.
It also requires you to be grounded in your values, what you’re passionate about, what’s important to you, and knowing who you are in your essence.
So – which of these will you begin to tackle today? And how will you respond when you realize suddenly one day, that stress is something unfamiliar, something of the past?
Live with intention. Inspire with Love.