Building self-awareness is really the first step in the process of change. When we become aware that change is possible and that we, personally, can begin to take actions to make a difference in our lives, is when the transformation begins. We don’t have to let our reactions to thoughts and feelings cause us to react in ways we don’t recognize or confuse and cause shame. We can identify our triggers and take new actions to respond thoughtfully.

The age-old concept of the glass half-full or half-empty determining your outlook on life is far too simplified. This type of generalization regarding our situation is often why we struggle in the first place. When learning something new, relax and know that you are so much more than the contents of a glass. You will always be learning. You will be great at some things and not so great at others, and it is all perfect. When your inner judge gets too loud, open your heart to compassion and let her know that she will be okay, just like you will be okay as you dance your way through life’s lessons.

Self-care from a place of self-love replaces our easy button activities with ones that are good for our future selves. They are actions that will to allow us to wake up tomorrow feeling better and less tense.

We often feel like our suffering isolates us from others, but when we hear and accept stories from others and recognize they suffer too, we can realize that we are all human and we all battle our stories, thoughts and emotions. Our ego and isolation want us to believe that it is our suffering that makes us special, but I believe what really makes us special is our uniqueness. When we truly accept and embrace ourselves and act in alignment with our true and unbiased nature free of the fear judgement, that is what makes us the most special.

Being open to new perspectives, especially when we are in pain and suffering enables us to grow and change…to see, try and understand things differently. Be open to new ideas and perspectives, at least consider them before choosing to refuse them. It is a choice after all and it may open your world to a whole new and improved experience.

Make mental wellness a practice. Find what works for you and find a way to practice it, and you will find that your mental health becomes stronger and healthier. This nightly practice has improved my mental health and happiness greatly.

When we overcome our belief of our lack of worthiness, learn to be our authentic selves, and understand how to stand in our integrity, we earn the freedom of choosing how we show up liberating us from our demons and past reactions.

Featured guest author, Carolyn Colleen, explains Breathe, Focus, FIERCE Action, part of the F.I.E.R.C.E process from her book, F.I.E.R.C.E.: Transform Your Life in the Face of Adversity, 5 Minutes at a Time! This method can be used to overcome adversity and anxiety in many situations, whether moving through an anxiety attack or moving forward through painful and tiring chemotherapy on a larger journey of beating cancer. I am a huge advocate of using breath to recenter ourselves, which is a large part of the process she shares.

She is an amazing human being, doing great and impacting work, which I am honored to share with you!

I’ve been trying to understand self-love for a long time. I read a lot of articles and books and have written the words myself that we each absolutely deserve love and belonging, but they continued to be just words to me. The feeling of heaviness and self-loathing wasn’t really going away.

I realize now that there is a difference between self-care and self-love and that self-love has to exist internally to really evolve.

That gloominess that was enveloping me has been replaced by a light and joyful energy, and I continued to remain curious about this occurrence, how it happened, and what could've created this change. That night, just before my inner Glenda showed up, I had finally asked a question that allowed space for a new energy and different emotions. I was stuck in a cycle of anger and fear and wasn't allowing space for compassion and joy, so when I realized my energy wasn't where I wanted it to be and questioned it, invitation and space were created to feel something different.

How does your day typically start? Do you wake up with optimism, looking forward with anticipation to the day ahead? Or do you hit the snooze button, putting off rolling out of bed until the last possible moment? Consider that how you begin each morning determines the quality of your day. I’ve created a little action acronym to help develop a new morning routine to start your day with more enthusiasm, encouragement, energy, excitement, and expectations: N.O.T.I.C.E.

I had this expectation that yoga would be this incredible and joyful experience every time I practiced and was disappointed each time I got on my mat. I thought: I must be doing it wrong. This isn’t the exceptional experience I want. So I resisted. Then a month or two would go by and I would try again and repeated the experience. I was being really hard on myself for not wanting to practice yoga and getting quite angry with myself and not practicing much self-compassion.

Now, I am adjusting my expectations and embracing it and really feeling the unexected emotions as they come. Right now my practice is rather intense and that’s okay. This is what I need right now to heal and move through this transformation; whatever it might be. This is my journey, I can practice compassion, and embrace what is instead of what I expect.