Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Aug/Sept 2016 Aspire Mag Full Issue | Page 42

YOU ARE UNIQUE. IF YOU’RE NOT LIVING THE LIFE YOU SAY YOU WANT, YOU NEED TO LET GO OF: 1. “Should-ing” yourself – get clarity on what you really want. Don’t make decisions based on what other people think you “should” do. Not knowing what you want will keep you stuck in a rut, living life on auto-pilot and living life based on other people’s expectations. Like poet Mary Oliver said: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” 2. Focusing on what you think it’s not working – focus on what’s right, on your blessings and how far you’ve come. When you do this, you start seeing your life from a more positive perspective. 3. Perfectionism – Perfectionism leads to procrastination and analysis-paralysis. If you fall into the perfectionism trap, you will find yourself stuck and not moving forward. 42 Just keep in mind that you are always good enough the way you are now, and that the best way to live courageously is by taking imperfect action, instead of perfect inaction. 4. Comparing yourself to others – Comparing yourself to others leads to self-judgment. You are unique. I invite you to see this from a different perspective, and think about how amazing it is that you get the opportunity to be your own unique self, and show who you truly are to the world, while you shine your light and make a difference! 5. Using past experiences to label yourself – You’re not broken, you’re not a mess, you don’t need to be fixed. Whatever happened to you is not who you really are, don’t label yourself. Just tell yourself “I have the power to decide who I want to be from now on” www.AspireMAG.net | August / September 2016