we are beautiful

My friend, Judy, shared this video with me yesterday.

I, like most women, can use a reminder that we are unique, we are beautiful and that we have value.

I wanted to share this with you, to remind you that YOU are beautiful too.

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Now go look in the mirror and take in all of your fabulousness...

Have a GREAT day,
Andrea ~ XO

Random Acts of Kindness

Happy Monday!

...so how are your affirmations going? Are they easier to tell yourself as the week progresses? Do you find yourself believing them? I definitely find them easier to say and I feel good as I repeat them!

Today I wanted to talk about spreading our love to others through Random Acts of Kindness. Clearly I'm not the only person out there who struggles with self love and acceptance and I am amazed that there are so many others out there like me who struggle to be happy with themselves and the lives they find themselves living.

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There are so many things we can do for the people we pass in our everyday life to give them a boost and make them feel great about themselves and about the people in their community.

Think back to the last time someone did something nice for you without expecting anything in return. I'm talking about something as simple as giving you a smile as they pass you on the street. It feels great doesn't it!?

It's so easy to spread love to others and let them know that they worthy, special and important. Unfortunately, we often get so caught up in our hectic lives that we don't take the time to do it; I admit that I'm as guilty as the next person of passing by completely wrapped up in my own thoughts and too distracted to notice those around me. What we need to realize is a little goes a long way!

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One of my favourite random acts is when I am in the drive thru of our local Tim Hortons (best coffee & donut shop EVER!). If there is someone behind me and I have a few extra dollars in my pocket, I will pay for their coffee as well as my own. I hope that my small gesture helps to get their day started on the right foot. I know it certainly brightens my mood! It takes just a couple of dollars and no time at all and the reward for myself and for the person I've affected is just awesome!  I think the drive thru employee also gets the warm and fuzzies because I always get big toothy grins as I drive away! 

While we work on finding our inner peace, I think it's also really important to let others know that they are special and worthy of love; whether it's your best friend or spouse or a total stranger you're passing on the street.

If you're looking for ways to spread love and kindness to others, check out this awesome site I stumbled across while I was thinking about this post. It's dedicated to spreading kindness and has more ideas that we could ever dream up!

So, this week try to do at least one random act of kindness everyday. I promise you that you are going to touch alot of people and you're going to feel so rewarded as well!

Have you ever been the giver or recipient of a random act of kindness? Tell me about it!

Have a great evening and remember that you are a beautiful person on the inside and out.

Andrea

I Am Fabulous

I've been keeping an eye on my stats to see what you all are checking out when you come to visit my teeny little space on this world wide web and I've been really surprised to see that my second most viewed page of all time was a post I wrote when I was really struggling with accepting myself ~ flaws and all.

Obviously I'm not the only one out there that has hard time loving myself unconditionally. That post was just a rambling of my thoughts and feelings at the time and I've been feeling compelled to write another post about this topic, but truthfully I've been really stumped as to what I should say.

I've decided to write a series of posts on loving and accepting yourself and hopefully you will find something to motivate you or make you feel great or maybe realize something absolutely fabulous about yourself. This is coming from a normal, average chickie poo (moi!) who struggles on a daily basis with self love and acceptance. Hopefully we'll both get a little fulfillment and meet some great and supportive people along the way.

I'm going to start the series off talking about being positive.

I think this is so important in changing our way of thinking from negative to positive.

What are the first thoughts that come to your mind when I ask you to describe yourself. At first I drew a blank. Wha.....! I was shocked and angry with myself because I know that I have lots of great qualities, but every time I would think of something, I would knock it down with a negative thought. I don't understand why it is so much easier to have a negative thought than a positive one. Is it looked down upon to think highly of oneself? Do we look arrogant or conceited when we lift ourselves up instead of knocking ourselves down?

I am worthy of love.

YOU are worthy of love.

Last week I made the conscious decision to change my negative thoughts into positive ones. It's okay to give yourself a little hug every morning knowing that you are a unique and wonderful person. It starts with you. You've got to believe you're special, wonderful and worthy of love before anyone else is going to believe it.

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Positive affirmations can be a great way to change your way of thinking. It seems a little uncomfortable and weird at first to make positive statements about yourself, but step out of the box and give it a try. All you have to do is say them in your mind. It's amazing how powerful words can be in changing our perception.

I've written down three positive affirmations about myself. Currently my biggest struggle is with my body image, so mine are focused primarily there.

• I am healthy and happy.
• I love my curves.
• My body is strong and full of energy. 

Put your affirmations somewhere you will see them several times per day. Repeat, repeat, repeat. AND MEAN EVERY WORD YOU SAY. If we tell ourselves these things over and over, then we just might start believing them. This will result in more and more positive thoughts. Once you get into the habit of saying these affirmations to yourself, tell yourself another one and then another one.

If a negative thought nibbles at your mind, push it out and replace it with something positive! We need to re-train our brain and create new habits where positive thoughts are the first things to pop into our mind. Imagine how wonderful life will be when we think positively about ourselves and about everything that surrounds us!

So, do you think that we can do it?! I know we can. It's going to be a challenge, but when you are courageous and determined there is nothing that can stand in your way.

Are you with me?!

Make sure you check back every Monday to see what I have to say about my journey to self love. If there's something you'd like me to touch upon or you want to discuss, let me know because I want us to work together on this journey. Email me anytime.

Share one of your positive affirmations with me. I would love to get some motivation and positive energy from each and every one of you!!

Remember that you are a special person who deserves to be loved,

Andrea