My Inner Sanctuary

Everyone needs a personal manifesto, rules that you live by or some type of guiding principle.  Otherwise, it can be pretty difficult to stay true to yourself and the others around you.

Here’s my manifesto, which by the way, is always evolving and work in progress. As you grow and develop your manifesto should change with you.  So here goes:

1. Ease up on yourself. The world is hard enough and there’s no need to put added pressure on oneself. Work hard, do good, try to make the right decisions, treat people well, and everything else really will work itself out.
2. Exercise, and then exercise some more. See manifesto number 1. Exercise serves multiple purposes. It trains you for life (remember life is hard and yes, sometimes you have to endure, but exercise gives you the strength, vision, endurance and discipline to manage). Exercise clears your mind and helps your perspective so that you can make good decisions. And I don’t know about you, but I am so much nicer when I exercise… give me a week without it and my family is ready to put me out of the house. Finally, it’s a stress buster and enables you to see that life really does work itself out.
3. Eat well. See manifestos 1 and 2. Your body is both a temple and machine. You need the right fuel to feed your soul and to fuel the machine. Simply put, give up the junk food. You can’t train for life fueled by garbage.
4. Once you are consistently implementing manifestos 1-3, you’ll learn to trust yourself more. This is absolutely critical.  Everyone has an inner truth, and if you learn how to listen to it, you’ll be happier and more authentic in everything you do.
5. Make time for quiet self-reflection. There are distractions everywhere and you need to connect with nature and yourself in order to find your inner sanctuary, which leads to a meaningful and balanced life.
6. Don’t regret your yesterdays. They made you who you are today. Take the lessons you’ve learned and go forth!
7. My closest friends are amazing, and known affectionately as the Wu-Tang Clan. I cannot imagine my life without them. Cultivate your relationships and keep them close.  You will have ups and downs with any relationship, however, they can continue to grow as you do. Share with them what you’re learning and what you’re excited about, and they will do exactly the same for you.
8. Be a lifelong learner. So, I started playing tennis five years ago, and now play on 3 separate teams. I’ve made new friends, learned so much from my teammates and developed my competitive edge, which has actually helped me in my job.  Plus, its’ FUN.  You will be amazed at what the world holds in store for your when you’re willing to learn something new.
9. Get a good night’s rest! My friends and family know, I sleep at least 8 hours every night.  Your body really does need it and, guess what?? It’s so much easier to accomplish manifestos 1-3 above if you’re well rested… I’m just saying.
10. Finally, have fun with your life and laugh aloud as often as possible. Laugh with others and laugh at yourself!

I hope My Personal Manifesto brings you a little closer to finding yours and your inner sanctuary.