Being Your Own Best Friend

Hello Dumplings,

      I have luckily been blessed with some wonderful best friends. I hope you have too. Friends can be your second family, and best support in times of need. Unfortunately not everyone has a crack team of besties they can count on. Usually these periods of time are temporary. In these times it is important to know that you can be your own best friend. We all have that inner instinct that guides us through our day. Sometimes we listen and sometimes we don't. If you develop a good and honest relationship with yourself you will feel more confident and self reliant. You will also notice your life moving in a better direction. I am going to give you a few tips to get you started:)

Get a diary or a journal
 This is where you can release your secrets,dreams,plans,ideas. . . . White in it every morning or evening when you are most peaceful. This is a place where you won't be judged so let loose. You never know what inspirational ideas you might discover.

Get an agenda
 This is to keep you on track. If you write it down you won't forget! Get an agenda that you can keep in your purse or bag. This is the first place where you become your best friend by remembering to take it with you and check it frequently lol.

Set goals and keep them
  These goals can be small at first. They should be reasonably attainable like organizing your purse or shredding old mail. You can gradually build up to more challenging goals. Making yourself stick to them is where the best friend part comes in. Achieving goals on a regular basis makes you feel accomplished and builds self esteem. Any movement forward is a step toward success, and is better than sitting still in sadness or chaos.

Be honest with yourself
  This sounds much more difficult than it is. We are all born with instincts and intuition.Whenever we feel torn about a decision big or small there is always that little voice that guides us. Most of the time we regret not listening to that little voice when things go wrong. You need to start honoring that intuition and trusting it to lead you through difficult decisions.

Don't beat yourself up
  We are often so much more harsh on ourselves than we need to be. That negativity builds up on a daily basis and eventually you think your the dumbest,fattest,ugliest. . . person on earth. It's important to acknowledge your mistakes, but there's a big difference between "I wish I would have done that differently" and "what else is knew? I always screw up!"

Know your limits
  It's important to be your own cheerleader and push yourself, but more importantly it's important to know your physical and emotional limits. Taking a break from hard work or defining your emotional boundaries with a friend or partner will keep you balanced and strong. Don't compete with others set goals that fit your abilities.

Do something nice for yourself.
  A deliberate kind act to yourself promotes self worth and is the bridge to accepting love from others. These kindnesses can be small daily things like getting your nails done,taking a bubble bath,or buying yourself flowers. The goal is to do something that feels good emotionally.

          We are usually all to eager to go out of our way for someone else but it is so important to be good to ourselves as well. A lot of my clients are baffled because they go out of their way for others,but don't get the same treatment back. We all teach others how to treat us because of the way treat ourselves. If you are experiencing\ this problem I hope these tips help.

                                                     <3 Jen