• Listen to yourself.
• Live in the present moment. Now. Every minute.
• Discipline yourself—it will give you true freedom.
• Do not pretend to be in total control.
• Allow yourself to be vulnerable sometimes.
• Ask for help. Network.
• Reinvent and renew yourself periodically.
• Make a sincere effort to keep promises and commitments—your internal sense of justice will punish all infractions.
• Forgive yourself.
• Explore the concept of acceptance of self.
• Love yourself. Accept yourself, your body and mind, as you are.
• In your quest for self-improvement, affirm and love yourself as you are today, here and now.
• Accept your life, good and bad as it is now, as a divine gift.
• Love another. A gift of yourself is the greatest gift you can give.
• Love others. Cacti can be as beautiful as a rose bush. Love them anyway.
• Reciprocate love. You are the mirror in which all your loved ones see themselves. You can soothe and inspire them by reflecting back an image that is lovable and competent. Calvin Cooley, renowned sociologist has described the Mirror Image thus: ‘I am what I think you think I am.’ If you constantly put down others, you can destroy them mentally. Their unhappiness can harm your mindscape.
• Accept your family as they are. Unrealistic expectations about your child can put unrelenting pressure on him. Mills and Boon expectations of your spouse can make them feel unloved and inadequate. They can then become cranky and difficult.
• Don’t seek revenge. Let go. Go forward and live.
• Compete only with yourself. Take pleasure in others’ growth and achievement.