6 Steps to Self-Care and Why It’s So Important

 

After a couple of years of over extending myself with one volunteer, social or charity event after another, I’ve finally decided to take a few months off to take care of me, my home, my family, my friendships and my foundation. So for those of you who are wondering “WHERE HAS SONYA BEEN?” I’d like to share the following thought with all of you:

Have you taken time to take care of you lately? When is the last time you were truly present in your life? When is the last time you really listened to your children, your friends, your family, your significant other and/or your co-workers? It’s really hard, isn’t it? You have so many places to be, people to see and things to do. It can be draining and it can leave you feeling empty and exhausted when you’re on that gerbil wheel of “can’t stop won’t stop!”. Only you can make the choice to STOP and stop saying “Yes” to everyone and everything so you can take time out to truly nurture and love yourself and enjoy life to the fullest. It’s in these moments of self-care that you recharge and are then able to nurture and love those people, places and things in your life that truly need you.

Here’s a few tips to help you to remember how to care for yourself and enjoy the simple things in life:

1. Love yourself first and the rest will follow.

Treat yourself with the respect and care that you deserve.  When you give yourself the things you need that make you feel good instead of expecting it from things and others outside of yourself, you become the master of your own destiny and a mirror for those outside of yourself.  Once you raise your own standards of how you treat yourself, you will accept no less from others.  Whether it’s kind self-talk, loving yourself unconditionally, bringing yourself flowers or treating yourself to a massage.  Once you start practicing how you would like to be treated and you start giving yourself the things you would like more of in your life, you will naturally attract those things to you.

2. Enjoy life to the fullest.

Be present in the moment, in your life, with your loved ones and with everyone you encounter. Instead of just going through the motions each day commit to being aware and appreciating your experiences along with the sights, sounds, colors and feelings you encounter in each moment. Take time to listen to your loved ones and make sure that your really hearing what they have to say.  After I lost my dear Grandmother several years back, I realized how much I had missed during our conversations because I wasn’t really present and was always thinking of the things I had to do. The stories she shared about the great depression, what she wore on her wedding day, her work as a missionary and some of her favorite secret family recipes.  Oh what I would do today to have those conversations with her again!  You can bet I would hear every last word of her stories! I would also be taking notes during her secret family recipe chats!

3. Be authentic.

Be yourself.  Acknowledge your efforts and achievements.  Eliminate negative self-talk. Instead of looking to others to make you feel good about yourself, do whatever you need to do to feel comfortable in your own skin and to become the best version of “you” possible.  It’s an invaluable gift you offer yourself when you step into and appreciate who you really are, your own self-worth and the unique gifts you have to offer to the world.

4.Nurture and attend to your valuable relationships.

Be selective about who you share your energy with and ensure that those relationships are offering an equal exchange of energy. If any of your relationships leave you feeling drained and empty that’s a sure sign that you are engaged in an unhealthy one-sided relationship.  Hang onto the relationships that make you feel good and lift you higher and let go of those that don’t.

5. Every morning when you wake up choose to “BE HAPPY”.

That one thought can change your whole day!  Remember, you are the leading actor and the director of this movie of your life and you have the power to choose how it plays out simply by focusing on what you wish to create. Do you want to live a happy, joyful, prosperous, harmonious, loving and abundant life?  Well then, what are you waiting for?   This is your movie…and you get to tell the lead actor how you intend to manifest your goals.  Once you get clear about what you want to create in your life, you will be surprised at how quickly the magic will begin to unfold.

6. Take care of YOU first.

Whether it’s through meditation, yoga, gardening, a walk in nature, surfing, traveling (note to self:)), writing or anything else that quiets your busy mind…it’s important to stop and clear your head and answer to no one else but YOU at least once a day.  Learn to set healthy boundaries with others and say “NO” whenever necessary so you can take care of your own mind, body and spirit.  It’s in these moments of silence that you recharge your soul and can then offer the same to the people that you care about.

 Lastly, DONT SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF:)!  Life is way too short!

6 Steps To Creating A Magnetic Vision Board That Works!

 

“Your thoughts create your reality-use this tool to assist you in manifesting the life you’ve always dreamed of!

But wait, you may say…”What the heck is a Vision Board and how does it work anyway !?  A Vision Board is a simple, yet powerful visualization tool that you create to help you to achieve your goals and dreams in any and/or all areas of your life, such as: career, health, home, relationships, travel, love, family, the person you wish to become, etc.  A Vision Board is simply a cork board, poster board or flat surface of any size onto which you paste a collage of cut out pictures, drawings, words and other items that you’ve personally selected to represent a picture of the life you want to be living and/or the things you wish to become. This is how you will activate the LAW OF ATTRACTION that will enable you to MANIFEST the life of your dreams!

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to attract all the good fortune?  Why is it that some people are like masters who’s desires magically appear just like wishes being granted from a genie in a bottle?  Well, I’m here to tell you that YOU are the MASTER of YOUR DESTINY!  You are constantly creating every second of your life, right here, right now, just by what you’re thinking.  Do you want to change it?  How about an upgrade?   All you have to do is get clear about your HOPES, DREAMS, and WISHES and you CAN change your life for the better, forever!  Vision Boards are one of the most effective tools you can use to start creating real visions of your dream life today!

Here are my 6 easy steps to help you create your very own Vision Board:

 1. Gather your supplies: poster board, variety of magazines, craft glue, scissors, and one of your favorite photos of yourself (to place in the center of your board) and your favorite music.

Optional additions to embellish your board with: stickers, glitter, beads, fabric, ribbon, sketches, photographs, and anything else that makes your board your own.

2.  Begin creating a list of affirmative intentions. First you need to identify your dreams and goals.  Start by asking yourself…WHAT WOULD I REALLY LOVE TO HAVE IN MY LIFE?   Clearly identify your goals and aspirations and the awareness of the sensations you get from achieving them in as much detail as possible.  Remember, you want to suspend your disbelief so you can embrace the sensation and gratitude you feel from manifesting these experiences and what you intend to do as a result achieving those things.

Examples of Areas of Intentions:

Home-Buy a new one, sell one, purchase investment property, redecorate, etc.

Career/school/education/certification-get an advanced degree, start your own business, get a bachelor degree, obtain your real estate license, or make a million dollars in sales!

Health/beauty/body-Lose 20 lbs., get a six pack, have a beautiful smile, have a full head of beautiful healthy hair, fit into a size 4, eternal youth, etc.

Relationships-family, friends, colleagues, love, dating, engagement, marriage, children, happily ever after, etc.

Wealth/Abundance/Material Items-How much, how, what will you do with it?  Buy a new home, new car, new jewelry, new yacht, exotic vacation, new polo ponies, 2nd home, etc.

Extracurricular Activities-Sports, travel, hobbies, write a book, sing, public speaking, take lessons in something, sky diving, pilots license, Olympic gold medal, etc.

The person you wish to become/ your legacy– What legacy would you like to be remembered by? Is it a charity, public office, humanitarian causes, Nobel peace prize, Goodwill Ambassador, Best Selling Author, etc.


(watch my recent live TV segment on KUSI by going to KUSI and search for vision boards.)

Now start writing those goals and aspirations down as a list of affirmative intentions that you want to create in your reality.  I prefer you use affirmative intentions instead of intentions because the affirmative intentions force you out of disbelief and into trusting that everything you hoped for is already conceived and incubating in the cosmos.  Affirmations empower you and begin with “I am” “I can” “I will” and “I have”.  Whereas, intentions begin with “I intend to.”  Don’t use the words don’t, can’t, not, try, or but.  Remember to write your affirmative intentions as if they are happening RIGHT NOW!  Keep writing your affirmative intentions with as much detail and emotion as possible.  I want you to dive deep into your affirmations and conceive, at a cellular level, what it really “feels like” to have all of those things in this very moment!  It is the feeling we strive for most when we set goals, not the goal itself.  Here’s some examples of how I wrote out some affirmative intentions with visualization, feeling and imagery :

  • There is nothing more emotionally and spiritually rewarding to me than the feedback I receive from my followers about the extraordinary impact my positive inspirational blogs and TV segments have made on their lives.  I am elated to be a positive influence in millions of people’s lives through my inspirational speaking, coaching and blogging which has made me feel proud to be one of the most influential inspirational speakers, coaches and bloggers in the world!  I am fulfilled knowing I am making the world a better place to live in by sharing my tips and advice on how to live a more balanced, healthy, happy, positive and successful life!
  • I am always early and/or on-time to appointments, meetings and events.  As a result, I arrive more relaxed and organized and I am more valuable to myself and others.  Now that I realize my worth and I value of myself and my time, I’m not over scheduling myself and I’m able to be of more value to my clients.  As a result, I have become one of the most sought after goal setting coaches in the corporate business world and am helping Fortune 500 companies to double their income and I am personally reaping the financial rewards of their successes because of these results.

3.  Now begin collecting images that match your areas of affirmative intentions from various magazines i.e., Conde Nast Traveler, Vogue, Yoga Journal, Fortune, GQ, etc.  or by googling them if you need additional images or words.

You can sit in a quiet relaxing space and put on your favorite music to make this an enjoyable endeavor.  Start by tearing out any and every image, word or phrase that is in alignment with your affirmative intentions.  Tear out anything that invokes a cheerful, invigorated and optimistic feeling or emotion.  If you see something and it gives you goosebumps, a warm feeling, makes your heart happy or you react with “wow!” “oooooh!” “omg!” “aaaaaah!”, etc. tear it out!!!   Just attempt to flow through this part of the exercise without judging the images or words you choose.  Tear things out based on how it makes you feel without judging them since it is the feelings that are the most powerful part of this tool.  Put all of these images into a folder to sort through and cut out in the next step.

4.  Paste a radiant picture of yourself in the center of your vision board.  Start sorting, selecting, cutting and organizing your images by area of intention.  

Cut out and glue a radiant, happy photo of yourself in the center of your board. Review all your images again, this time keep only the images that conjure up a lot of excitement, ambition and enthusiasm.  Eliminate the images that no longer feel in alignment.   Begin cutting out and laying your words and images on your vision board working from the center photo of yourself outward, by area of intention or scattered if you chose a diffused theme (I like to keep the clippings from the images in a baggie so I can refer to them later to confirm my manifestations since location or other details are sometimes cut off the original images).

5.  Begin gluing everything on your board.  

You can arrange everything with adhesive putty first and then glue with craft glue once you have all of the images in the order you want them.

6.  Hang your vision board somewhere that you will see it everywhere.  

The goal of your vision board is to be a reminder of the things you are hoping to accomplish and the feelings you get from achieving them.  While creating your board is a motivator to achieving your goals, you need to take action to make your goals a reality.  Use the images to create a plan of action and then start doing what you need to do to turn those plans into a reality.  By viewing your vision board on a regular basis, and remembering the feelings you get from accomplishing your goals, you are maintaining focus and reminding yourself of what you hope to accomplish and more importantly the feeling you will have by obtaining these goals.  It is the feeling we are most attracted to with the outcome of a goal…not the goal itself.

Please share all of your vision board success stories in the comments below.  I love hearing all of your success stories and your stories of manifestations will help to inspire my followers too!

Happy Manifesting!  Wishing you all the BEST year in 2018 and the years to follow!

Make sure to checkout my guest appearance on Good Morning San Diego with everything you need to know about creating your very own Vision Board for 2018, so you can begin manifesting the life you’ve always dreamed of having. Sonya Berg Vision Boards