The less time you waste on comparing yourself to others, the faster you will get to the places you are wanting to go.

With the creation of social media it has never been easier to find yourself comparing where you are to where you see others.

Who has the best relationship? Vacation spots? Who is the most physically fit? Has the best and most fulfilling life?

It’s important to remember, that most of us use social media to present our best selves – I’ve even heard this referred to as being fake. On the contrary, I don’t see it that way at all.

By all means show me your art! Your beauty! Your insights! The things you are most proud of and your challenges. The real issue lies in each of our ability to celebrate the success of others, and have compassion for their challenges, while staying focused on our own.

We can’t get caught up in this never-ending comparison game.

This type of insecurity is embedded in us from birth. We are taught not to simply learn and grow, but to Be the Best. To be Number One. Which by default means you must compete with your fellow warrior to win the race.

But the fact is, life isn’t a race- doesn’t it pass us by fast enough without adding extra momentum by trying to forge ahead at a rate so fast we don’t even give ourselves time to enjoy the view.

Stop comparing yourself. Stop looking at those on their path and allowing where they stand to somehow diminish where you are.

It leads to a life of dissatisfaction.

And that will keep you walking in circles, and encountering detour after detour as you sabotage your path.

::WARRIOR CHALLENGE::

Take time to celebrate other people’s success. Feel it as if it were your own. Promote their art, music, comment on a photo, share in their joy.

Once you’ve done this, pick one thing that really caught your attention, whether it was a recipe, a photo, a piece of art and let it inspire something within you.

Silence your complaints, they are your burdens and should be carried alone.

Complaining is something we all do.

It’s our mind monster nitpicking every detail in our lives to reinforce that we are victims to circumstance and the world is simply an unfair place, doling out challenges that illustrate the injustice of it all.

When we find ourselves complaining, the first step is to acknowledge, you have a right to do so. You are observing something outside of you that isn’t in alignment.

Where most of us go wrong, is we fail to take the next step in evaluating what we’ve done, said, believed to cause the thing we are complaining about.

We blame external circumstances for our unhappiness and through doing this give all of our power over to those things we can’t control.

The more we complain, the more addicted to it we become. And the more hooked we are, determines the level at which we will infiltrate other’s lives with our complaints.

We do this to gain sympathy, compassion, and establish some sense of control in what feels like a chaotic system which seems to have it out for us.

We ask those listening to give us something that we are not giving ourselves. It is unfair to ask others to carry your burdens. We each have our own, so when we ask others, to tote our baggage, not only do we not gain the strength to carry our own, there’s no motivation to learn how to lighten our load.

There is a huge difference between complaining and speaking about a life circumstance you need help with.

The difference is simple to differentiate.

If you go to someone with a true challenge, you will first not ask them to solve it for you – you listen to whatever insight they may give and then use it to resolve the issue.

If you are a chronic complainer who is simply looking to feel justified in feeling bad, you will ask for guidance and then disregard it. You aren’t really looking for solutions, you simply want a soundboard for your problems because in that moment it provides temporary relief.

Inherently, complaining does not make us bad people. We are simply operating unconsciously and without realizing it, asking others to take on work that isn’t there own.

How do you shift from toxic complaining to healthy discussion of life challenges?

It begins with filtering what you feel compelled to share. And when you do decide to share, you make sure you’ve already gotten a healthy enough perspective that you can discuss it without burdening another.

Complaining is simply a red flag to us that our own perspective needs readjustment. The more aware of it you become, the more you can pick and chose your battles within yourself.

Once you do that, you can then transform complaining to others into connection and collaboration to help your own evolution.

Become conscious of your words, and how you use them throughout your day – and I promise you, the impact it will have on your inner dialogue and those you have externally will be life-changing.

>>>WARRIOR CHALLENGE <<<

For one week, at the end of each day, write your complaints down as opposed to vocalizing them. And then the following morning, look them over. Cross out the petty ones. And for the ones that are of importance, write a perspective or action you can take to transform your grievance into a gift.

Be humble and unforeseen forces will aid every step you take.

There is a lot to be said about keeping yourself humble.

And to set the record straight, this doesn’t mean you can’t accept a compliment, or appreciate all the unique things you bring to the table. I find people who can’t accept a compliment are usually either

A) A melgomaniac in disguise

or

B) Wallflowers with no self esteem

Being humble is the perfect balance between these two extremes. You own your power, you know who you are, what you want in life, and are actively acquiring the skills needed for said things. The difference is in your attitude.

You don’t allow your pursuits to create arrogance.

Arrogance is thinking you are somehow better than other people because of your talents, vision, life path. How can you tell when you are slipping out of the humble attitude which attracts the underlying forces of the Universe to aid you?

You begin judging other people.

You compare yourself to others, usually finding fault, and allowing their lack of whatever attribute to make you feel better about yourself. You feel superior to others and if left unchecked, this attitude will permeate every area of your life and infect it.

How can we inspire our inner genius without allowing our ego to take us over? It’s all about perspective. Being thankful for the gifts you have, while also observant of the areas you have much work to do. It’s being honest with yourself and letting go of that competitive belief that others must fail in order for us to succeed.

When you learn to be

H U M B L E while embracing your strengths

All manner of seen and unseen forces will conspire to propel you forward on your mission. And the impact you will have on others will multiply. Take stock of where you stand day to day, and see how this rule can help you create a rich life that is satisfying.

>>>WARRIOR CHALLENGE <<<

Make a list of anyone you are judging- and then – ask yourself why?

What is it about this person or situation that has me so riled up.

And then accept, you woud not be seeing this flaw unless it wasn’t trying to reveal you carry something that is causing this reflection, or you wouldn’t be seeing it, and you definitely wouldn’t allow it to bother you.

Honor your enemies, they are your greatest teachers.

Part of mastering the mind, is understanding that EVERYTHING showing up in our external world is showing us something

It is a

R E F L E C T I O N

This concept is a challenging one to understand, and takes diligence to master. We are trained to react when something outside of us happens we don’t like. And the usual reaction is to deflect and place the blame on this external circumstance for why things aren’t going our way.

We are quick to point fingers and blame.

Whether it’s a life condition or a person who’s triggered us, remember to honor that this is happening to reveal something we aren’t seeing.

It can mirror back limiting beliefs we carry, wounds from our past, negative behavior / thoughts patterns.

The more we can do this with humble acceptance, the more we can look within to uncover the reason for this reflection showing up.

Whenever you find yourself being faced with an external enemy (person/circumstance/event) honor it. It is your greatest teacher. And then find the courage to look within so you can learn from it. The only enemy that exists is the one within your mind which convinces you that you are being victimized. You are being shown beliefs that are attracting things you do not want.

::WARRIOR CHALLENGE::

Next time you find yourself confronted with a perceived enemy (a situation that makes you feel you are under attack) Write it down.

Once you’ve put it to the page, give yourself some space to reflect on how this situation is mirroring something you need to let go of, look at.

And then come up with a new perspective about why this happened for your greater good.

Don’t be fooled by shortcuts, commit to the long haul.

We can’t achieve anything of true value without having this ability firmly in place. Learning to have clear intention, and applying the necessary daily actions to accomplish them is the underlying framework needed for continuous progress and evolution.

When we learn how to pull back and get an objective perspective on our life as a whole we can see what’s working and what isn’t. We can navigate towards what it is that we say we want, and away from massive detours or dead ends that keep us in a never-ending loop.

It takes

S e l f – D i s c i p l i n e

to achieve what our hearts desire.

This means instead of looking for the shortcuts, we commit to follow the steps along the path’s we’ve selected.

We practice. We research. We learn. We apply.

We understand that the most important aspect of getting to the places we want to go, is keeping our mind focused in that direction.

And if we get knocked off track, we always stand back up and redirect.

No matter the endeavor, we will see it come into our reality as long as we commit to doing whatever it takes to reach that mile marker. One thing I always remind myself of when I feel like I’m walking in circles, is that if every destination I dreamed of was so easy to find – it wouldn’t be half as exciting when I reached it.

>>>WARRIOR CHALLENGE<<<

Write a list of things you’d really like to have happen or aquire.

Start with the smallest of things, all the way to the biggest.

Accept that each of these intentions is 100% in your grasp, but you must first believe that in order for them to manifest in your reality.

Write down the logical steps it’s going to take to see these intentions come to fruition, and then commit to following through with no attachment to how long it’s going to take to get there.

Just know you will arrive if you stay the course.

When you master your mind, you learn to master your life

Mastering the mind, requires self-discipline.

Your mind is a chemical computer, which from the time of birth has been downloaded with the belief systems passed on from the collective down to the immediate family.

Many of these beliefs are distorted truths, which act like a virus, corrupting your natural power. The process of cleaning and removing these belief systems happens in stages, and requires a willingness to first become aware of your thoughts.

Once you recognize these thoughts, you can begin removing those that do not align with the life you are wanting to create.

The goal is making peace with the mind so you can use it for the creative tool it is meant to be.

This process can feel overwhelming at first.

Instead of trying to monitor every thought which is impossible to do, just stay aware of how you feel. Emotion is generated by something you are thinking – so the moment you begin feeling bad, ask yourself what was I just thinking about to cause this reaction.

Once you become alert, you can begin challenging your thoughts, and rewrite a new script. It takes diligence and practice, but it becomes easier and more fluid with time.

Mastering your mind is the first key to navigating your path in the most efficient and effective way.

In order to master the mind, not only do we have to conquer the never-ending stream of thoughts running on loop every day – but we must defeat the Big Bad Enemy on the block.

P R O C R A S T I N A T I O N.

::CRINGE::

You know, the nasty bully who comes along during one of your newest, most brilliant projects and decides it just isn’t worth putting your attention on. It lures you with all kind of things that are suddenly more important.

The dishes need to be done. The emails checked. The mound of laundry that’s cleaned (but not hung up or folded) getting more wrinkled by the day. That next show to binge on Netflix.

So how do we defeat procrastination?

Like everything else, it begins with a commitment to yourself. Most of us are rigid on keeping our commitments to others, but when it comes to putting ourselves on the list we usually fall short.

Stop doing that.

>>>WARRIOR CHALLENGE<<<

No matter what your project is make a clear decision you are going to follow through. Pick a specific time of day to complete it. A small amount of time over the long haul goes a very long way. Set smll steps for yourself and then reward yourself when you reach them.

When you honor your interests, and map out the trail that is going to get you successfully to your destination point, you will be surprised and delighted at how quickly you can reach those mile markers.

Books I highly recommend:

The Four Agreements by Don Miquel Ruiz

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle