A Guide to Feeling Good on the Inside: 20 Beautiful Tips
We turn not older with years, but newer every day. – Emily Dickinson
It can be easy to look good on the outside. A trip to the barber shop or hair salon can improve the style of your hair in little time and with minimal effort. Laser hair removal clinics are multiplying faster than Starbucks stores and if you have the money, and the nerve, there are medical doctors who create their art by using their patients’ bodies as a canvass.
Looking good on the outside is important to all of us – me included. Five workouts a week, a discerning eye on what goes into my mouth and a clean shave every morning helps me to look as good as can be expected. To be honest, the real reason I do these things is to feel even better on the inside.
For most of my life, experiencing true and lasting self-confidence has been a challenge. I workout not because I have hopes to become a world-class athlete anytime soon. I workout because of how I feel about myself afterwards. The feelings of accomplishment and commitment are my fuel – my energy to sustain me through the challenges and obstacles that occur as a natural part of just living a life.
Feeling good on the inside is integral to living a happy, successful and balanced life. But, not all days are easy ones. However, we get to have a head start every day when we feel worthy, valuable and full of passion. The following 20 beautiful ways to feel good on the inside can provide the power necessary to give you this head start:
- Enjoy the moment.
An expression many of us heard as children goes something like, “never borrow trouble.” The meaning is simple: There are always problems needing to be dealt with, so enjoy the good moment in front of you right now. Stay in the positive moment, the comfortable moment, the passionate moment for as long as it is natural and appropriate to do so. These moments can be extraordinary. Live them fully and begin noticing how much better you feel on the inside when you do. - Celebrate your success.
Take the time to congratulate yourself and to pat yourself on the back for whatever level of success you just achieved. Allow others to celebrate with you and be open to their praise. Humans are clearly not robots. We have souls that need nourishing and our batteries sometimes rundown. Celebrate and allow yourself to feel the pride and joy of your accomplishment. - Always keep moving forward.
The day most people quit is the day before they would have found success. Feelings of failure, regret and doubt begin to swell into things that can be far more dangerous. No matter how tired or discouraged you may feel, if the thing you are working so hard to obtain is aligned with your life’s purpose and passion, then you will achieve it. Perhaps not on your timeline, but you will achieve it nonetheless. Stay focused on how it will feel to get there. Your spirit and your faith will give you the energy to keep moving forward. - Treat yourself.
Self-deprivation doesn’t feel good to me. What does feel good is the ability to choose when and how to treat myself. By treating yourself to a special meal, dessert or a concert ticket you are confirming you are worthy to enjoy something a little special. - Strengthen your relationships.
Never miss the opportunity to tell someone who is close to you how much you love them. Time invested in your relationships can result in deeper connections and a better sense of what you are able to give – and what you would like to receive. - Be real with yourself.
We never really believe the lies we tell ourselves. These lies only make us feel more anxious and incredibly guilty. By being real, and completely honest with ourselves, we are in a better position to discover what we really want in life and what feels good. - Accomplish one item from your “to-do” list each day.
All we need sometimes is to take one small action in order to continue moving in the direction we want to go. Forward progress, and movement, can make us feel we are well on our way; no matter how long it might take us to get there. Pick one thing, each day, on your to-do list and complete it. Soon, all of these one-day-at-a-time items will compound and aggregate into something amazing – something you created and something that belongs and feels good to you. - Be responsible for meeting your own needs.
No one else is going to do it for you – nobody. Only you know what’s in your head and what lives deep in your heart. If you want to have financial success, work harder; or if you want to have a better marriage, then become the better spouse. Yes, there are people who you can count on for love and support; but if you rely on these people, and only these people, you are missing an incredible opportunity to fill yourself with a level of love, grace and respect that can never be taken away. These are gifts you give yourself. The best part about these gifts is you never have to return them or give them back. - Acknowledge your feelings.
When you are happy, say you are happy. When you are angry, say you are angry. An important piece to feeling good inside is to know exactly how you are feeling. After all, you cannot change or heal what you do not acknowledge. - Keep your balance.
Listen to your inner voice, your inner wisdom, when you are pushing too hard in one area of your life or when you are neglecting another one. Live somewhere in between. This middle space often feels better and is far more comfortable. - Start the day right.
More importantly, start the day in a way that is right for you. I love the serenity of the early morning to either write or grab a workout. This is my time when no one has any expectations of me. It feels like freedom and happiness to do some of the things I love to do. Both make me feel great on the inside, too. - End the day well.
Spend the remaining time in your day doing what you enjoy the most or what brings you peace and sense of completeness. Allow yourself time to enjoy what you have accomplished and begin planning for the next day. This time for centering will allow you to connect with what’s going on inside your mind and in your heart. - Be a person of integrity.
Do what you say you are going to do. Treat others with respect and dignity. Don’t cut corners with the people you love the most. To feel good on the inside means being good on the outside, too. There is a direct connection between the two. - Embrace challenges.
Test yourself. Push yourself a little. Don’t back down from a fair challenge. When we embrace challenges we are given the opportunity to learn more about ourselves. No matter if we are successful or not, we can feel better for trying. - Perform one random act of kindness.
There is a certain connection we all share. Without knowing everybody you encounter, you do know they certainly have struggles, disappointments and perhaps pain in their life. By holding the elevator door for someone a few steps behind you, or helping a stranger change a flat tire you are making their day a little easier; a little brighter. In return, you are adding to your own repository of personal contentment. Simply put, it just plain feels good when we make a point of doing considerate and generous things for others. - Show your gratitude.
An amazing thing happens when we express our gratitude: More of the things we are grateful for keep coming back to us. - Give.
Pick a cause or organization that is important to you and consider making a donation. The donation does not necessarily have to be monetary. Consider giving some of your time or offering a talent. While the beneficiary does receive the expected value, so will you. - Nourish your mind.
Learning can be a lifelong process of discovering the unknown and the interesting. By expanding your knowledge, you are in a better position to try on new things and see how they fit and feel to you. This discovery process will put you in a better position to get in touch with what feels right and what feels even better to you. - Trust your inner wisdom.
When you listen to your inner voice, and respond accordingly, you are seldom wrong. The tug you feel that guides you to a particular awareness or decision is unusually aligned with truth and reality. Shame, guilt or disappointment can occur when our inner wisdom is ignored. Happiness, peace and confidence are gained when we follow and respect what we know in our guts to be true. The latter sure does feel better than the former. - Appreciate what you have.
Only this day is guaranteed. Spend each day giving thanks to the people and circumstances in your life that bring you the most happiness. While it’s important to remain optimistic and excited about the future, it can also be humbling to become aware that the people we love the most can be taken away in the blink of an eye. Reach out and express your gratitude. It will be returned. And when it is, you will feel twice as good on the inside.
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Comments
10 Responses to “A Guide to Feeling Good on the Inside: 20 Beautiful Tips”
What do you think?
This was incredibly good. I really, really appreciated it. I like this one the best though:
“Enjoy the moment”
Thanks for this and thanks for your wonderful site!
Great List Alex,
I resononate with all, love celebrating trusting that inner wisdom- I kick myself when i don’t and being grateful makes my day shine.
Great list Alex
I resonate with them all. Number #8 is an important one. I find that when my self-care has been neglected that I tend to react negatively to people and things happening. Feeling good goes right out the window!
Alex this is great. I love 100% of it. I subscribe to a number of blogs and this one is definitely today’s favorite with so much take-away value. Thank you. Re acknowledging your feelings, I’d like your opinion on a post I wrote last week. This isn’t just a little plug for my blog, I’d truly like your opinion. Would you honor me with that? http://valeriedykstra.typepad.com/valerie_dykstra/2009/05/swearing-cussing-and-such-im-serious-1.html
This is the most helpful piece of writing i have ever read since i started the fight against depression…everyday i read 2 or 3 blogs by random people abt happiness and all tht related to it…but im an undying fan of urs…and today’s blog has just put u reeeely high in my books!=D
thanku soo much!!I will try my best to achieve these…i guess my biggest problem is NOT ‘living in the moment’ and its the first tym tht i hav actually realized it!!
@ Valerie: Freedom of speech reigns in God’s kingdom, too.
@ Hafsa: It’s a journey for all of us.
Thanks for sharing this.I like them all and truly try to follow them.Trusting my inner wisdom is something I really need,if I don’t feel myself something is wrong.Thanks again for the insight.Love from Argentina
I like your tips. We all need to appreciate what we have. It works for me to be happy and grateful this way.
Thank you for 20 beautiful tips, I already feel better. I like your tip to nourish your mind and give more, these work for me.
That’s great we can do so much to feel good inside.