{"id":2549,"date":"2012-01-29T12:01:20","date_gmt":"2012-01-29T17:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/?p=2549"},"modified":"2012-01-07T13:40:15","modified_gmt":"2012-01-07T18:40:15","slug":"the-joy-within","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/01\/the-joy-within.html","title":{"rendered":"The Joy Within"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/em>Today is Day 29 of my 31 Days of Self-Love posts to celebrate Self-Love Month<\/a><\/strong> with suggestions for jumpstarting your own self-love.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em> I\u2019m happy to have Sheila Viers<\/strong><\/a> as my guest today. She\u2019s a Life Coach and Co-founder of Live Well 360<\/strong><\/a>, whose mission is to inspire you to see health and fitness as something you get to do, rather than something you have to do. Best known for her uplifting perspective on healthy living, Sheila and many of her articles have been featured on health and fitness publications including Yahoo! Shine, Glo MSN, FITNESS Magazine, LiveStrong, FitSugar, Under30CEO, and FigureAthlete. Here\u2019s what she had to say about self-love:<\/p>\n

9 Tips for Finding Joy from Within<\/strong>
\nby Sheila Viers<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou will find your joy when you stop looking for it outside yourself and instead look within.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s so tempting to give people or circumstances credit for how you feel, isn\u2019t it? It seems logical\u2014things happen, you think about them, and then you feel a certain way because of them, right? That\u2019s the way human beings work. But maybe that\u2019s not true. Imagine what it would feel like to take total responsibility for the way you feel\u2026 for the thoughts you choose to think and the emotions you choose to hold your focus on.<\/p>\n

What would it be like to always know that no matter what, you have the power to choose to feel joy?<\/p>\n

This is what it means to \u201cfind joy from within.\u201d In other words, it\u2019s no one else\u2019s responsibility to make you happy. It means that even in what might seem to be the toughest of circumstances, you can look for things to focus on that will help you to feel better. Here are 9 tips to help you find joy from within:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Make lists daily of the things in your life that you appreciate.<\/strong> And make the list because you truly want to make it and because you really do appreciate these things. This isn\u2019t something that you can just go through the motions and get the benefit from it. You\u2019ve got to hit pause on everything else, clear your mind, take a deep breath and think about what you really appreciate right now today.<\/p>\n

2. Tell everyone you know<\/strong>: \u201cMy happiness depends on me, so you\u2019re off the hook.\u201d And then demonstrate it. Make a commitment to yourself to stop looking for reasons, blaming, or making mental lists of excuses as to why you aren\u2019t happy. Take your power back.<\/p>\n

3. Look at challenges through the lens of: \u201cwhat does this help me to clarify about what I want for my life?\u201d<\/strong> Keep your focus on the answer. Every challenge is an opportunity for you to learn more about yourself and what you really want. Give your challenges an imaginary hug and thank them for the chance to gain more clarity about yourself and your preferences for your life.<\/p>\n

4. Adopt the affirmation<\/strong>: \u201cthings are always working out for me\u2014whether I see the path right now or not.\u201d It feels good just to say that doesn\u2019t it? You can\u2019t help but have amazing things happen when you adopt this attitude.<\/p>\n

5. Let go of worrying about the \u201cwhat ifs\u201d and trying to control.<\/strong> Worrying, what-iffing, and trying to control from a forceful stance is silly. Just let go, go with the flow, and allow things to unfold. Take one step at a time, on a moment-by-moment basis toward what feels best based on the information you have right now. You might be surprised how well things can work out on their own when you let them.<\/p>\n

6. Take care of yourself first, then others.<\/strong> It sounds like a selfish thing to say, but when you are well taken care of, you have more to offer others.<\/p>\n

7. Evaluate, measure, compare less\u2026 a lot less.<\/strong> Let your intuition guide you toward the things that fit you best rather than what you think you should do and\/or what everybody else is doing.<\/p>\n

8. Find positive things about yourself and celebrate them\u2014be satisfied with who you are right now.<\/strong> You are amazing right here and now in this moment. Own it. Flaunt it. BE IT. Not because you are trying to impress anyone, but because you deserve to experience what it feels like to completely love yourself. You don\u2019t need to change one thing in order to be perfect and worthy of happiness.<\/p>\n

9. Embrace the journey.<\/strong> When you look back at the end of your life, many of the things you thought were huge struggles could actually be seen as adventures on the ride of life.<\/p>\n

It might seem odd to think of it that way, especially for those of us that want to achieve, prove, create results, make change for a better world\u2026 but it really does get you thinking\u2014what\u2019s the point of it all anyway? It\u2019s not really to lose 5 pounds or fit into your favorite pair of jeans, is it? Or in more general terms, we aren\u2019t here to prove.<\/p>\n

Give yourself a break and enjoy the ride. Expand, learn, grow, interact, love, and experience life.
\n*********************<\/p>\n

To learn more about how Sheila Viers <\/strong><\/a>transformed her life and her relationship with food, visit www.eatwell360.com<\/a>. To check out the Live Well 360<\/strong><\/a> line of premium fitness and yoga bags at www.livewell360.com.<\/a><\/p>\n

*********************<\/p>\n

Take the 31 Days of Self-Love Challenge<\/strong><\/a>–a pledge to do something loving for yourself for the next 31 days–and get my book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways<\/a><\/strong> for free at http:\/\/howdoiloveme.com<\/a><\/strong>. Read my 31 Days of Self-Love Posts from 2011 <\/strong>HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Please leave comments under my posts so we can stay connected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is Day 29 of my 31 Days of Self-Love posts to celebrate Self-Love Month with suggestions for jumpstarting your own self-love. I\u2019m happy to have Sheila Viers as my guest today. She\u2019s a Life Coach and Co-founder of Live Well 360, whose mission is to inspire you to see health and fitness as something…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[27,251],"class_list":["post-2549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-self-love-acceptance","tag-self-love","tag-sheila-viers"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Joy Within - Lessons from a Recovering Doormat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/01\/the-joy-within.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Joy Within - Lessons from a Recovering Doormat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today is Day 29 of my 31 Days of Self-Love posts to celebrate Self-Love Month with suggestions for jumpstarting your own self-love. 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Daylle's books have been translated into over 10 languages and are popular around the world. She speaks for colleges, organizations and corporations. Through her company, Project Self-Empowerment, Daylle creates programs and materials to help people empower themselves. One goal is to raise the money to self-publish her book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways and give it away for free in colleges and through organizations, to give thanks for all her blessings. 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