What I love about our guest author, Elle Sommer is that even though I haven’t personally met her, she feels like another friend. She is a role model of someone who lives with heart and enthusiasm. I find her writing encouraging, and I think you will be too!
Most of us, swimming against the tide of trouble the world knows nothing about, need only a bit of praise or encouragement – and we will make the goal. ~ Robert CollierWhat would it take to have a world where encouragement was…well encouraged?
Imagine a working environment where we honored people for their contributions and maybe saw mistakes as simply learning experiences. A workplace of heart and enthusiasm.
Or how about a home filled with recognition and praise for the children or your partner. A place where we valued opinions and respected differences. A home filled with heart and enthusiasm.
Here are five effortless ways to begin living your life with a heart full of enthusiasm for your world, for your experiences, for your life.
Promise
To always assume the best.
To be kind to yourself and others.
To show up as the best possible you every day.
To dream bigger and greater dreams.
To love more.
To remember we accomplish so much more when we work together in harmony and co-operation.
Use what you’ve got
To lead a happier, more fulfilling and abundant life we have to make some changes and by engaging the laws of life deliberately, consciously and purposefully we can make this process a little easier. I’m always in favor of ease and grace.
A little technique that helps is to choose a thought, any thought, that feels good, or maybe focus on something that you really want to experience and see if you can think about it a thousand times today.
It doesn’t really have to be a thousand times, just as often as you can, without making it a huge project, and sprinkle the thought with how amazing it would feel.
You might choose something like…it’s so great that I now have_______(fill in the blank) and feel the excitement or relief.
Now you’re firing on all cylinders. Have fun with it.
Take another look
We waste tons of time on all the reasons why we can’t have or do something. Everything is difficult for us and there are just too many obstacles in our path, all because some past event was interpreted by us as negative or difficult and a paradigm of difficulty was created.
In most cases, your current limitations are as a result of your own self-programming. We all do it…stress the negative aspects of our experiences…the problem is it then becomes pretty tough to create something positive.
Begin to see your past through a new perspective and look for truths that you’ve overlooked or forgotten about. Seeing your past with new eyes, from the point of view of being confident or being successful helps you form an entirely new way of being in the world.
Whatever your situation your past is rich with instances of blessings and success, so begin to filter your past through eyes filled with heart and enthusiasm.
A view from the heart
How much time do you spend seeking to be different than you currently are? I’m all in favor of growth and expansion, and I’m also in favor of stopping to appreciate what’s right here in the now.
More money, more success, a better love life, being more in shape are all great things to aspire to, and taking time to acknowledge your beautiful self is equally valuable and something we could definitely do more of.
You are precious, your life is precious and the world is good. You bring something uniquely wonderful to the world. A little acknowledging of yourself wouldn’t come amiss here.
Maybe you’re currently not very lucky in love, or as rich and successful as the next person.
Maybe you’re not always a happy bunny, and that’s okay. Life is sad and life is happy, it’s achievement and failure, it’s being confused and certain again, but most of all life is good and you can fill yourself up on the goodness of life every day if you stop for a moment to breathe in appreciation and acknowledgment.
Appreciate the days where the skies are brilliantly blue, where sunrises and sunsets awaken your spirit, those days of wind chimes, snowflakes, music that touches your heart and soul, kindnesses, friendships and soon you’ll be in awe of how much beauty there is in your life.
Tap into a new energy source
Look back on the fun times in your life. When we’ve been playful, joyful and simply having fun we’re filled with energy and vitality; we can more easily notice the good in life, everything seems brighter and easier, our hearts are lighter, our very life force has increased. Fun isn’t a waste of your precious time, it’s a necessary, life-affirming practice.
If you’ve never thought of fun as an energy source you won’t be using it to have an extra uplifting experience in your day. Taking time out for fun, not only increases our vital life force, but it sends our subconscious a powerful message. I am deserving, I am worthy, and life is great. You’ve got to love that.
Be willing to nourish yourself with a little daily fun, and you’ll find yourself with a renewed and refreshed spirit. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of being overly serious about life. We become too busy, as though the priorities and pressures won’t wait for us, yet strangely enough, they’re always there the next time we focus on them.
Maybe it’s time to set up a new agenda which includes a daily fun activity that fills our heart and feeds our soul.
You’re in charge of your life and balancing your responsibilities with spontaneous and creative fun when the opportunities present themselves, is a wonderful tool in the art of living with heart and enthusiasm.
In the comments below share with us how YOU live with heart and enthusiasm each day. Your words might just bring that touch of heart and enthusiasm that someone else needed.
Encourage one another.
What helps you live with heart and enthusiasm? Let us know in the comments.
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Elle Sommer is the founder of Live Purposefully Now where each week she shares actionable wisdom that points the way towards living a richer life in relationships, finances, and spirit. Elle’s mission is to motivate and encourage everyone to create the life they want.
Hi Elle – yes, taking a little bit of time for myself every day brings much happiness and enthusiasm. And actively scheduling that in. I used to be running around all day and lost control of my schedule and time but have since re-prioritized so I can live life more on my terms. And more consciously.
I also use the tips you mentioned about visualization and gratitude, both wonderful practices to live a more heart-centered life.
So great to see Elle over here, Cathy. She’s one wise woman who definitely shares practical wisdom with her writing.
responsibilities balanced with spontaneous fun… I’m trying to wrap my mind around how I could do that because it seems like a great way to not feel so pressured by the pressures. instead of power naps, power “something”. I don’t know. I’ll think on it. Something to wake up the brain and spirit sounds like what the doctor should have ordered. 😀 Thank you Elle, always great tips and thanks for leading me back to Cathy’s blog.
Firstly Cathy may I say it’s an honour to be a guest writer on your site, which as you know I admire greatly.
And Vishnu thank you so much for your kind words. It makes such a difference when we are choice as to how to live our life, suddenly it becomes easier and happier and more joyful.
Thank you for your beautiful and inspiring words, Elle. I so appreciate your contribution to the blog. Appreciate your friendship and all you do to make this world a better place!
Elle-
So much juicy stuff here – but let’s focus on daily fun time –
I am a firm believer in laughing and having fun every day. It can be when I’m reading something, with friends or family, thoughts, my dogs AND if I feel like a dose of just guffawing, I’ll watch an episode of Seinfeld or Jon Stewart. Oh yes, sometimes I’ll watch the bees, birds, or dogs and chuckle. Or sitting on a park bench and observing others human beings. Cooking a meal with my family or meeting every one for dinner and seeing the beauty of every one’s soul – simple things really.
I read recently in a book – I think it was ‘Happy For No Reason’ that a person who had overcome tremendous obstacles had a 10 minute laughing session each day ~ it was his form of meditating.
Cathy- thanks so much for hosting Elle. It has helped to start my week on a ‘fun’ note….xxoo-Fran
Glad you enjoyed the post, Fran!
Hi Fran…it’s so funny that you should read about the person who had a laughing session 10 minutes a day. Way back in the 1800’s Marden wrote about a woman who determined to laugh three times a day and it changed not only her disposition but her life.
It’s a great energy source and we all could use some extra uplifting laughter…love your take on this.
Living in the “now” always works, Elle. I firmly believe that prolonged post mortem is not good for any situation. The energy is better spent on moving forward.
I love the points you listed under “Promise”
This post lifts my spirits!
Love, Vidya
I love the idea of including fun in your day…I ask myself at the beginning of my day…what did I do today to have the most fun in my day…I am always amazed at what shows up!
What a great way to start your day Susan…I think it’s a keeper. 🙂
Elle has an amazing gift of looking at life through a profound, complex lenses and yet an uncanny ability to share her wisdom in a down to earth and fun way. It leads me to believe she is person who has walked through the rain and is thus able to bring real sunshine to us. Thank you Elle.
Hi Brian and I thank you for your kind words. 🙂
Elle,
You remind me of actions, like laughing, that will also attract joy into my life. But you also reminded me that when I notice a blessing, no matter how small, and acknowledge that blessing, that also attracts joy into my life.
Thank you!
Thanks for stopping by Sandy and I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. I appreciate your encouragement too. 🙂
Thanks Vidya, your encouragement is always so appreciated. 🙂
Great post, Elle !
“appreciate the days” , Amen and sing it ! ! !
As our awareness blossoms, it becomes easier to be swept up in the gratitude and the appreciation of our days on this earth.
“your past is rich with instances of blessings and success” , WOW ! ! !
Our lives are so abundant – if only we take but a moment – we can feel the energetic abundance, see the material abundance, experience the emotional abundance.
“you’re in charge of your life”, talk about an abundance of freedom and choices ! ! !
It’s all up to us, awesome responsibility and endless opportunity, what a wonderful combination.
Thank you !
Hi Greggos…just love your enthusiasm. We should have a nice online cuppa one of these days and swap enthusiasm stories.
“I love me” X 1000 = A happy camper! Me.
I Luv u 2 Tess.
Beautiful post!!!! Thank you so much for the inspiration!!
So glad you enjoyed it Lucia. Thank you for your kind words.
Elle,
It’s so nice to see you hopping around on these blogs! I really like two sections. The first is the “promise” section. Those all really resonated well with me, especially “showing up as the best possible” me every day. The second is taking the time to appreciate the wonders around us. Great advice. I hope all is well with you! I’m trying to keep my head attached to my body here, but it’s a good busy.
Cathy, thanks for having Elle pay a visit on your site! 🙂
Victor, it’s so nice to see you here. And knowing how busy you’ve been these past few weeks your comment is even more gratefully received. I thank you.
Thanks for stopping by, Victor!
Nice article Elle. And thanks Cathy for sharing this with us. I love the part about fun not being a waste of time! It seems more and more that people that is true. What a shame. Thanks for highlighting that fun as a really important function in our lives!
You are so right Leslie – seems like a lot of us have forgotten that fun is an energy source, yet all we have to do is look at kids all around us…and there we are. 🙂
Hi Elle – I felt so uplifted after reading your post. You brought up so many important reminders and tangible, simple ways of staying in touch with the good and the joy in one’s life. I’m all for the “fun” part and try everyday to do something along those lines – preferably outdoors – a hike or climb or swim… Thank you, Elle, and thank you Cathy for sharing this with us.
Glad you enjoyed it Lisa – I believe we should put a bit of fun in our life every single day, whatever that looks like for us. Sounds like we both like to keep it simple…I’m all for ease and grace.
Beautiful post Elle and Cathy!!
Always an inspiration Elle… love the “Promise”!
xoxo
Betsy
Thanks Betsy for stopping by. Elle is always an inspiration!