Life is a beautiful thing. Sometimes it can get complicated to navigate.
Sometimes, we can find ourselves doing things we never thought we'd be able to do especially when we are not guided by certain life principles.
Today I'll be writing on one of this week's Ladiesofhive contest questions:
Do you have a personal guiding principle (or a mantra) by which you live? If you do, what is it and how is it impacting your life so far?
Or
Firstly, Yes!
I do have a handful of principles I live by. I like to feel like I have my life in control and not in chaos so I try to live by certain principles which I believe help me live a more productive, fulfilling and happier life.
Here are some of the mantras I live by:
Happiness and freedom begin with the clear understanding that some things are within our control and others are not — Epictetus:
This is a popular stoic quote that has changed my perspective on life and made me a tad happier.
Understanding that the only 2 things in life I truly have direct control over are my thoughts and actions has helped me to worry a lot less about the things that aren't.
Like: what others think about me, my physical insecurities and so on...
The truth is if we focus a lot on things that are outside our control we would more often than not be unhappy. So I like to not think too much about them and focus on what I can change – My thoughts and actions.
Learn to live and not just exist:
Recently in my life, I got to realise that for most of my existence I have simply just been existing and not truly living.
Most of the time and I'm sure a lot of us can relate, we spend most of our time thinking of the different variants of the past and imagining possible outcomes of the future. We rarely spend time at the moment.
The moment I became aware of this I began to practice mindfulness. Now, I feel more alive than I've felt in years.
I try to be in the moment as much as possible, I try new things, have fun and take challenges.
I try to be alive and not just exist.
Everyone deserves GOOD:
Sometimes, one could get carried away with the wrong that goes on in the world but I strongly believe everyone deserves to be shown goodness regardless.
I try to be good to anyone I come across regardless of whatever backgrounds they may have.
I am a strong believer of what goes around comes around.
There is nothing I cannot achieve if I'm willing to work for it:
I am a strong believer that I can achieve anything I set my mind to achieve regardless of the difficulties.
I believe if I want something bad enough, I can get it.
Take Responsibility:
I like to believe I have to take full responsibility for my life and where I am in life.
I think blaming others for our misfortunes is only an excuse that prevents us from taking responsibility and working on doing the things we need to do.
There you have it!
These are some of the mantras I live by on a daily and I hope you're able to pick out something valuable from them.
Thank you for reading!
I'm inviting @sweetsoul to join the contest here