Daily Inspiration: "Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most." -Buddha

My friend Jane quoted this recently, and it really resonated with me.Think about 5 words you would use to describe yourself.  Some of them might be positive – “smart, kind, funny” – but others might be negative – “lazy, arrogant, easily bored.”
Yet what both groups of words have in common is they are based upon the past.  What you believe about yourself and what others have revealed about their perceptions of you through their words and actions together have created your own illusion of yourself today.
What is simultaneously inspirational and dangerous about this is anything you believe about yourself can be used for your greater good or demise.  If you are satisfied with your looks, for instance, you are more likely to feel confident, to be assertive, to take more changes, and to ultimately be better at whatever it is that you do.  That is to what I attribute the 2011 study that linked a woman’s level of thinness to greater income:  in a culture that often unfairly equates thinness with beauty, those with an inclination towards skinny tend to feel more confident.   They’re not more beautiful; it’s more confidence.
On the other hand, letting your past shape your future can be dangerous because it creates impractical limitations.  Maybe you failed an important exam, were inconsiderate and lost a significant other, gained 30 pounds, or got fired from a job.  Letting those past experiences define you can make you feel paralyzed emotionally, frozen from taking changes and working hard to create your best possible life.
One of my all-time favorite authors, life coaches, and O: The Oprah magazine contributor, Martha Beck, has suggested creating a vision board with all of the physical, personal, professional, and spiritual goals you dare to dream on it.  Make your goals big!  Examine the board each morning, and actually feel what it would take – who you would have to become, what you would have to do, where you would have to go – in order to achieve those goals.  Step into that life.  Even for just a few moments each morning, it can start to transform your life.
I’ll admit, I have an old vision board hanging in my office, but now that I’m getting older, I find it a little embarrassing to admit some of my grandest goals, particularly when distant family or acquaintances stop over.  So I have a “private” vision board, a .pdf file I keep on my iPad, which I can access anywhere, anytime I need to upload inspiration.
So the bottom line for today is this:  Don’t let mistakes of your past define what you are capable of today.   The past is only an indication of how well what you once chose to do worked for you.  You can change all that by starting to create a new perception of ‘self’:  Make a vision board or list of your dreams, envision what you need to do and become to get there, and then start to think of yourself in those terms, as that person.
Remember: People decide to change their lives everyday – whether through a new job, class, workout regimen, diet, wardrobe, hairstyle, you name it.   All you have to do is know what you want, define what it takes to get there, and believe you have it in truckloads.  As long as your dreams come from a healthy place, where you are not intending to do harm to anyone else, they are genuine desires that exist because you know, subconsciously or otherwise, that you are capable of achieving them.  There’s a reason I never dream about becoming a runway model or a firefighter, but I do wish to one day be one of the best bloggers and beauty product inventors in the world.  It’s in there somewhere.  Find your dreams, and start knowing you have what it takes – today.
Photo source: Buddha, originally uploaded by myklbak.