How many times has someone just told you to be yourself? For me, it seems infinite. The real question should be, how would you know if you are really becoming yourself?

When I ask myself that question, there are several questions that come to mind.

• How do I act when I am with the people who I am most comfortable with?
• Do I smile more often when I am with them?
• Do I laugh more when I choose to be around them?
• Do I choose to show them kindness even when I know they cannot or will not give me the same courtesy?
• When am I most comfortable? When I am by myself, with friends, with family or even with strangers?
• When I am with others, how do I feel?
  

Maybe you ask yourself these same questions.

I think my comfort zone is being around friends. I can be myself when I am with them. In fact, while my friends are always honest with me (even when it hurts) I almost always seem to have the same groups of feelings. I never feel inferior but I do feel at peace, a certain sense of stability. My friends never make me feel awkward or try to intimidate me, but instead show me love, kindness and always seem to put a smile on my face. Maybe, just maybe it is because I am choosing to be myself and do not feel like I have to react to them.

Everyone has patterns that keep them from functioning at their full potential. Typically, 20/20 hindsight shines light on this well after we make the wrong choice and we are left thinking to ourselves, "How could I possibly get here…again?"

Since studies have shown that the subconscious mind drives more than 90% of our thoughts, actions and reactions we must then understand that only 10% of our thoughts and actions are made consciously. Sadly, since life leaves very little room for reflection, most of the time we do not even notice that we have made a poor choice until well after it is done.

So, it is no wonder that our unconscious patterns are making the decisions that we struggle with most.

It is because of this that we need daily routines that will keep us in touch with our own lives. By understanding that this is an area of weakness we can make the choice to empower ourselves to intentionally choose our decisions. When we make this choice it will help to get rid of most, and maybe all, of those unhealthy patterns, giving us the life we strive for.

Here are some helpful hints to get you started!

• First, you must take time each day to pause and reflect on how your decisions affected your life and the life of others.
• Second, intentionally choose to celebrate the highpoints.
• Third, by recognizing the highpoints you are more aware and able to learn from your experiences and begin to see the “right” decision as they appear.

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!

Every person on Earth experiences happy moments. Those moments will lift our spirits, unlock our hearts and increase our overall energy. However, to maintain this heightened state of being takes practice.

Studies show that the average happy feeling lasts for about three to five minutes before beginning to fade away. However, when we make note of these special times and choose to share and relive them, it is then possible to extend the life of our positive emotions.

This is a choice though. It is important to choose to make it a daily practice to identify and be thankful for all of your positive moments. I am going to show you a few ideas specifically designed to increase your happiness. Choose to try one this week and start enjoying the feeling of renewed happiness.

• Start by keeping a daily journal. Write down all of your positive experiences. When you choose to write down these experiences it secures the memory in your brain and boosts your mood.
• Then share your highpoints with others. Make it a habit to tell the day’s highpoints to others. By sharing you joyful experiences you exponentially expand your own positive emotions as well as those of the people you share them with. We call this a twofer!
• Believe it or not, a picture really is worth a thousand words! Try to take a picture of those joyful moments. Then, you can make a slide show, using one of your favorite songs, and start to realize how much you are getting out of life.
• Smile! When you smile it is contagious. Try it! Smile at someone today and see what happens.

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE  BETTER!