I just came across this beautiful sentence: “Surround yourself with people that bring out the best in you, not the stress in you.” I immediately liked it!!I really believe in surrounding yourself with nice, kind people. It’s like preparing the soil to grow new plants. You prepare your soil to become the best possible version of yourself. Preparing ‘your soil’ is so important. Not only are the people surrounding you of great influence on how you feel and hence how you act in life, but also what you hear, what you see, what you eat, …. Therefor it is good to take a moment and make an inventory of what you do on a daily basis.
What kind of people are surrounding you?
The more you are surrounded by positive, kind, good hearted people, the more you are at ease. The more you are at ease, the more the best version of you can emerge. The more you are your best you, the more you’ll attract even more positivity and kindness. It really is a full circle. As we are all connected, everything we do, has an effect on the world around us. Every act of kindness raises the vibrational frequency of the Universe. Living by example is what speaks to me. “Be the change you want to see in the world” is one of my favorite sayings of Gandhi. Being how you would like others to be, acting as you would like others to act, talking like you would love others to talk. By surrounding yourself with ‘examples’, by surrounding yourself with kind hearted people, it becomes clearer how you want the world to look like. You feel this is how you want to live and the best version of you finds a way to flourish. And then you can be an example for other people too.
What are you listening to?
Do you want to hear about everything that is going on in the world? Are you listening to every newsflash they’re broadcasting? If so, try to dial it down a bit. You won’t become a hermit if you only listen to the news once a day, or even every 2 days or less. The constant bombarding of your mind with all the drama, conflicts, disasters, …. in the world, has a big influence on how you think. The more you hear about all this negative stuff going on in the world, the more you focus on ‘bad things’ happening. This causes a certain level of stress. You forget about all the good things happening. Hearing about good things lift you up. It takes you to a higher vibrational frequency. Being on this higher vibrational frequency is making you feel good and you’ll attract and see more good things happening around you. The more you focus on seeing and finding the positive side of things, the more you’ll actually experience positivity. This state of mind is also a lot better for your health as you experience less stress.
Are you listening to harmonious music, to kind melodies? Or are you listening to hard, aggressive music? I totally understand you sometimes want to put the volume as loud as possible and just enjoy the fast and loud music. Then you can release whatever it is you need to release. But if you would always do that, this too puts your body in a state of survival. The loud music makes your body produce adrenaline as it registers ‘danger’. This causes stress and is therefor not beneficial for your well-being. If on the other hand, you are listening to soft, harmonious music, this relaxes your body and mind.
What are you watching?
The same goes for what you are watching: is it with a lot violent scenes, yelling, people betraying one another, … or is it a story that makes you feel good? Is it a peaceful documentary? Is it something that makes you smile? I think it’ important to be aware of what you’re watching. Here again, I am the first one who can appreciate a good old British murder mystery. As long as it’s balanced with feel good stuff. As long as it’s not the only thing you’re feeding your brain. Be aware of what you watch because here too: ‘Garbage in, garbage out’. Your mind believes what you keep feeding it.
What are you eating?
You may be surprised to find that what you eat, also has a big influence on how you feel. The purer your food and drinks, the better you’ll feel. The more your body agrees with what you are feeding it, the more energy you’ll feel flowing. Make your body* pure again so that you can actually listen to your body and know what it needs and likes. The more you eat and drink pure, healthy stuff, the happier you’ll feel. Now your body will be an asset, something you cherish and love, instead of a source of worry and discomfort.
What do you do to relax your body and mind?
How much time do you give your body to heal, to restore? How often do you let your mind become quiet? I have been writing** about this a lot too, as it is all part of creating optimal conditions for your body and mind. The better you sleep, the healthier your body and the clearer your mind. The more you practice yoga, meditation, journaling, …. the better you’ll be able to feel relaxed, the better you’ll be able to see opportunities instead of problems, … All this makes you feel happier. And a happy person is: a healthy person, a kind person, a respectful person, a loving person. Preparing your soil really is worth looking into.
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Katrien
*”Less is Yes!” by Katrien Degraeve, “Rejuvenate your body! Some practical tips” Medium article by Katrien Degraeve.
**Articles on Medium by Katrien Degraeve