Love 14 Rules For Being You
EMBRACE THAT INDIVIDUAL inside you who has ideas, strengths, and beauty like no one else. Be the person you know yourself to be—the best version of you— on your terms. And above all, be true to you—if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it. Starting today...
1. Get your priorities straight.
Twenty years from now it won‟t really matter what shoes you wore, how your hair looked, or what brand of jeans you bought. What will matter is how you loved, what you learned, and how you applied this knowledge.
2. Take full responsibility for your goals.
If you really want good things in your life to happen, you have to make them happen yourself. You have to make your own future and not think that your destiny is tied to the actions and choices of others.
3. Know your worth.
When someone treats you like you‟re just one of many options, help them narrow their choice by removing yourself from the equation. It‟s not pride—it‟s self-respect. Know your value and what you have to offer, and never settle for anything less than what you deserve.
4. Choose the right perspective.
Perspective is everything. When faced with long checkout lines or traffic jams, you can get frustrated and enraged, or you can spend that time daydreaming, conversing, or watching the clouds. The first choice will raise your blood pressure. The second will raise your consciousness.
5. Don't let your old problems punish your dreams.
The next time you‟re tempted to rant about a situation that you think ended unfairly, remind yourself of this: you‟ll never kill off your anger by beating the story to death. So close your mouth, unclench your fists, and redirect your thoughts. When left untended, the anger will slowly wither, and you‟ll be left to live in peace as you grow toward a better future.
6. Choose the things that truly matter.
Some things just don‟t matter much. But lifting a person‟s heart? Now, that matters. Put first things first. The hardest and smartest way to live is choosing what truly matters and pursuing it passionately.
7. Love you.
Let someone love you just the way you are—as flawed as you might be, as unattractive as you sometimes feel, and as unaccomplished as you think you are. Yes, let someone love you despite all of this, and let that someone be you.
8. Accept your strengths and weaknesses.
Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, and it is only when we accept everything we are, and everything we aren‟t, that we are able to become who we are capable of being.
9. Stand up for you.
You‟re here to be you, not to be what someone else wants you to be. Look them in the eye and say, “Don‟t judge me until you know me, don‟t underestimate me until you challenge me, and don‟t talk about me until you've talked to me.”
10. Learn from others, and move on when you must.
You can‟t expect to change people. Either you accept who they are, or you start living your life without them. Some people come into your life as blessings; others come into your life as lessons.
11. Be honest in your relationships.
If you‟re not happy, be honest, and move on if you must. When you‟re truly in love, being faithful isn't a sacrifice, it‟s a joy.
12. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Life can change in the blink of an eye. It might feel a little uncomfortable at times, but know that life begins at the end of your comfort zone. So if you‟re feeling uncomfortable right now, know that the change taking place in your life is not an ending, but a new beginning.
13. Be who you were born to be.
Don‟t get to the end of your life and find that you lived only the length of it—live the width of it as well. When you are truly comfortable in your own skin, not everyone will like you, but you won‟t care about it one bit.
14. Never give up on you.
This is your life; shape it, or someone else will. Strength lives not only in the ability to hold on, but in the ability to start over when you must. Keep learning, adapting, and growing. You may not be there yet, but you are closer than you were yesterday.