Being Happy. Being a Dreamer. Being a Doer. Loving Who you are.

Happiness and loving yourself go hand in hand. 

After my last personal blog post about you completing you, I went to sleep that night when thoughts about being happy popped in my head. I mention going after dreams and goals, but I've heard people talk about how happiness means you're content where you are. SO why would you push or pursue anything else. 

 i did some researching and journaling. Here's what i found both about myself and what others agreed happiness looks like. Being happy with yourself means you want to better yourself because you VALUE yourself. When you truly love yourself, you want to pursue more. It's not just sitting or being complacent.  It also wants best for others, but you value your time and worth enough to focus on yourself and bettering you. Maybe you’re at a place where you can’t pursue every dream but you can always give excuses or always find solutions, ultimately the choice is up to you. Loving yourself and being happy with yourself doesn’t have to be arrogant or conceited, but it is knowing that you’re a worthy human being. worthy of happiness. worthy of treating yourself but also being healthy. worthy of those things you think about at night. 

 It’s good to be satisfied and pleased about where you are in life. You’ve accomplished a lot. Whether it’s school, a job, marriage to the love of your life, kids. It doesn't mean that you're out to change every part of your life.There is a difference between just going through the motions though.. Am i happy with the progress i’ve made in my photography over the past years? ABSOLUTELY. but if i stopped learning and growing now, i wouldn’t get better. I want new skills because i know i’m capable of more. I’m happy with my progress but i know there’s more i can accomplish. It’s a very short life we live, do you think it’s enough to just coast through life going through the motions? It's not about focusing on what you're lacking, it's about strengthening who you are already.when you love yourself, you want to be good to yourself. 

Valuing yourself doesn’t mean who don’t value your spouse, kids, family. It means you know you’re an important part of that family too and as much as they need happiness and you want that for them.. shouldn’t you want that for you too? I just read a status update from a woman who has a kid and is pregnant. She said she took a prenatal yoga class and realized how important it is to take time for herself, relax, clear her mind. I'm sure this helps her family by focusing on herself once in a while.

After much reading i came up with a list of what happiness looks like as a very general statement. and i think there are so many more things you can add to these lists. I read about 12 articles from each category and then thought about what it means to me. Along with my knowledge from books i've been reading lately. 

What it looks like for people who love themselves...

1-you spend time on yourself. 

2-You cheer other people on

3-You read/ learn/apply.

4- You fuel your body with sleep and healthy food

5-You don’t constantly fear failing, because you can learn from it. 

6- You can find joy in the present moment. 

7-You move to feel good. (even light exercise like walking)

8- You try to improve yourself

9- You go after dreams

10-You can look in the mirror and tell yourself positive things

What it looks like when people don't love themselves correctly...

1- You don’t see a way to make dreams happen, or don’t have dreams

2-You put everyone else first all the time.

3-You’re too critical of yourself

4-You compare yourself to others often.

5-You feel jealous of other peoples’ happiness

6-You find it hard to eat well, exercise, or break bad habits

7- You rely on someone else for all your happiness.

Why am i sharing this with you? After my You Complete You post, i felt It needed a follow up. I went to sleep after posting it thinking if i was happy and loved myself. Which is why i started reading articles, i wanted to find like points that people agreed on that people who love themselves have. And those who don't love themselves what those look like too. It's not to call you out or make you feel bad. It's to help you realize if you are in a place where you don't want to be.. you don't have to stay there. The journey to BIG dreams is to start changing SMALL habits. So if you've been going through life and you know you want more or to be happy, start with small changes. Go for a walk, start looking in the mirror and making yourself say something good. Cook one healthy meal this week. Be around encouragers. Figure out your big dreams and start getting to them. I know you can. We all were meant to love ourselves and others fiercely and go after our dreams.  

-Keep Shining

Shanna Star