- “Visualize your highest self, then start showing up as her.”
Often, we tell ourselves we’ll be the best version of ourselves once we start working out, eating healthy, studying, dressing well, dating, working a new job, etc. Happiness and success lies in our future definition of ourselves, and we spend the days dreaming of when it becomes reality. The truth is we won’t wake up one day as the dream version of ourselves, but we have to build the life we want daily. If you want to be a toned athlete, you have to commit to a workout routine each week. If you want to be a healed version of yourself, you have to create daily habits that support your physical and mental well-being.
But having high ambition can be overwhelming. It’s easy to get caught up in everything that you want to accomplish, that you become paralyzed and accomplish nothing. This quote has helped me approach big life goals with more confidence. When you connect with your “higher” self, which is the wiser, more disciplined, and happier version of yourself, you can step into that mindset and act as though that’s already who you are. From the moment you wake up, you have a series of decisions to make. Will you sleep in an extra hour or go to the gym? Will you hang out with friends or work on the assignment due before midnight? Take each decision one at a time and act as though you are already the person who you hope to become.
Some best practices for tapping into your higher self are: spending time alone and in nature, journaling, meditating, reciting affirmations, creating a vision board, and letting go of limiting beliefs about yourself. Once you have a clear vision of what you want out of life, live each day intentionally striving to reach those goals. Your end goal won’t manifest out of thin air, but if you make a commitment (big or small) each day to move closer towards your dreams, one day you’ll look around you and realize you made it.
- “The best things in life are already mine.”
While it’s important to have goals and aspirations, getting too caught up in the future diminishes the value of the present. Kehlani sings this lyric in her song with Zedd “Good Thing,” but it holds meaning beyond the catchy tune.
It’s easier to appreciate what you already have when you’ve recently received something new or something you really wanted. However, practicing gratitude even in moments where you feel at your lowest opens the door for new opportunities and blessings. It helps when I put my life in perspective and remember the things I wished for years ago and realize that many of them have come true presently. If we are always focused on what’s next, we forget to be appreciative of everything that we already have (which is often enough).
Operating with the quote’s mindset also helps you not to settle in any aspect of your life. If you acknowledge that you already have some of the best things in life – whether it be an education, good health, a sense of humor, a roof over your head, etc. – you seek less external validation and focus on cultivating happiness within yourself.
- “Everything will be okay in the end, and if it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.”
While trying to reach all of these personal, academic and career goals, it’s inevitable that we will experience rejection or fall short at some point in our lives. Sometimes it’s our own doing, like procrastination or self-doubt, and sometimes it’s just the unpredictable nature of life. As someone who likes to be in control of her destiny, it’s hard to surrender the forces I can’t control.
This quote has helped me work through moments where it felt like everything was going wrong all at once. Sometimes it’s all too easy to give up and surrender to feelings of being inadequate or unfit to reach your accomplishments. But realizing that each day is another opportunity to keep pushing forward is what keeps me going. It helps me to reclaim my power in seemingly uncontrollable situations. This quote reminds me to keep fighting because the best to come is on the other side of my doubts, anxieties, and fears.
This quote also feels like a warm hug from my grandmother. It’s OK to not always operate as a strong warrior that can power through disappointment after disappointment. Sometimes you just need to acknowledge that while it’s not put together in the moment, that doesn’t mean it will never be. Sometimes you need an affirmation that it’ll all be well in the end.