Release

There are those days when I wake up and feel the need to refresh, release and stop trying so damn hard to make life work for me. It’s too much work. I stay way too busy, and I burn out. Today is one of the days when I’m feeling like it’s time to release some fear, be more positive and just go with the flow…. and to just simply SLOW DOWN. To do this, I have a list of some expectations I am trying to free myself of. Starting today. Because there is no other now than right now. 

 1.  Expecting other people to agree with me.

I deserve to be happy.  I deserve to live a life I am excited about.  Today, I will approve of my own decisions and not demand approval from others. I will let go of the feeling that I have anything or anyone to live up to. I will believe in myself, be myself, and follow my intuition leading to my dreams. I will focus on my path, align it with my purpose and take steps to achieve success. I will do all of this regardless of what other people say or think. My happiness depends on it.

2.  Expecting others to love or respect me more than I do myself.

I will stop demanding attention, love, respect and admiration from other people. I will give all of these things freely to myself without inhibition. I will live a life with trust and faith in who I am and practice self-love and self-acceptance. Today and everyday forward, I am going to look in the mirror and say, “I love you, you are whole and complete.” My happiness depends on it.

3.  Expecting (and needing) them to like me.

There will always be people who don’t match well with my energy, personality or character. And I will be okay with that. I will choose to spend time with the people who love, value and appreciate me. There is at least one person in this world other than myself who I am priceless to. I will acknowledge my self-worth and work hard to always be myself and the kind of person I want to be remembered as when I am gone. I will be okay with being different. My happiness depends on it.

4.  Expecting other people to conform to my idea of who they are.

I will make a concerted effort to stop expecting my loved ones to act or be a certain way and begin to appreciate them for who they are. Loving and respecting others means allowing them to simply be who they are.  I will pay attention, listen, learn and grow with the most important people in my life. The people closest to me are beautiful, individual, and valuable and I will be patient with them. By not expecting someone to be who I think they should be allows them the full freedom to be themselves and affords me the opportunity to really get to know them. Sharing this experience will open me to relationships that are pure, partnering and positive. My happiness depends on it.  

5.  Expecting other people to know what I’m thinking.

There is no one that will ever know what is on my mind or what I’m feeling if I don’t communicate openly and honestly. Being stressed out and anxious over work, school, family, appearance, or anything really isn’t an excuse to shut out the people I love. In order to be present in all of my relationships I need to appropriately communicate my concerns, fears, and worries. By doing so, I allow my loved ones the opportunity to help me through encouragement, advice and support. This will help me to work through issues with the most important people in my life and fully experience the comfort of others. My happiness depends on it.

6.  Expecting other people to change.

The only person that I can change is me. Waiting for someone else to change isn’t going to happen if they do not want or are not ready to. All I can do is appropriately communicate my thoughts and feelings and if it is important enough to them, they will put in the work and do it for themselves. Rather than trying to change anyone around me, I will simply be supportive, give them the freedom they deserve to be who they are and watch as they grow and change all on their own. This is a more beautiful and natural progression of change and I will enjoy it. My happiness depends on it.

7.  Expecting other people (and myself) to be okay.

By taking the time to understand and realize that everyone goes through struggles, adversities and insecurities, I will make more of an effort to just be kind and patient with others. I will stand by my family and friends, be supportive when they need it and ask for support when I do. I will also learn to understand that I cannot make my loved ones feel better all of the time. Everyone reserves the right to have a bad day, even if it’s for no real reason. Life is full of ups and downs as well as good and bad. Fortunately I do realize that some of the bad is necessary in order to fully appreciate the good and to know how to recognize it. I will be kinder than necessary, smile, work more on my happiness that anyone else’s and make contributions to the good of others. I will remember that true strength is in overcoming adversity, challenges and insecurity – not in covering it up or hiding it. I will make an effort to look someone I trust in the eyes when I’m not okay, and say “I’m struggling right now.” I will let them help if they can and I will do the same for them without judgment. My happiness depends on it.