Nurture your “Inner Being”

Smile every day.
Find joyful reasons to keep you positive at all times: spend time with your family and friends, enjoy quality time with your pet and reframe every negative thought to positive whenever you start to think negatively.

Focus on others’ positive qualities.
Try to be forgiving, nonjudgmental, unprejudiced, generous, kind, open, honest, and accepting. Also, being realistic is very helpful. When we have difficulty seeing good in others, we need to address our inner critic and the source of it.

Cultivate your gratitude.
Keep a gratitude journal. Make an effort to express your appreciation to your loved ones. Engage others by asking what they are grateful for. Teach gratitude to your children if you are a parent, aunt or uncle, grandparent, or teacher.

Communicate your thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
Find low-risk ways to speak up your mind. For example, send back the cold soup when eating at a restaurant. If you practice this, you’ll build enough confidence to address more important matters. Stop thinking about others' opinions and encourage others to do so.

Celebrate your accomplishments and reward yourself.
Reward your hard work every time you finish a task, or you are in the process of achieving an important goal. You can invite your loved ones to celebrate your accomplishments, as well. Keep a journal to track your completed tasks and reward yourself with purpose, giving yourself something you truly desire.

Build genuine self-confidence.
The first step to self-confidence is self-acceptance. The more you value and respect your health, body, and appearance, the better you will feel. Also, keep your ego in check, admit you are wrong or don’t know something, and continue to seek ways for self-improvement.

Make time to enjoy a creative outlet.
Set aside time in your schedule to invest in a creative break: painting, writing, singing, drawing, or anything else that is creative and you enjoy. Get inspired by spending time in nature, listening to music, or reading literature. Creative engagement can happen anywhere at any time.

Engage in more meaningful conversations.
Put a time limit on small talk and focus on choosing topics for big talks which are meaningful to you. Take a genuine interest in what others have to say and try to expand your circle by joining groups where you’re likely to nurture meaningful conversations: book clubs, classes, or non-profit organizations.

Become a mentor for someone.
Decide how much time you can invest in your mentee and who you want to mentor. It can be a child, colleague, or college student. You can work for an organization, be part of a community or look for opportunities online.