MaXIMIze - The Greatest Love

It has been said that there can be no greater love than the one that compels one to lay down his or her life for another.

I would posit, however, that the greatest love we have is the one we have for our Self, for how we love our Selves is how we love others.

If we feel we are capable of following our dreams and bringing our visions to life, then we can encourage others to do so as well. If we feel like no matter what we do, we hit roadblock after roadblock and our dreams and visions become so much dust on the windowpane, then we cannot encourage others - in fact, we end up discouraging them instead.

The best way we can love our Selves is by practicing extreme self-care. I've hit on this time and again over the last four years, and will continue to do so. If you can't take care of yourself - love yourself, believe in yourself, push yourself - then you can't take care of others.

My book, MaXIMIze: Take Your Life in Your Arms and Kiss It! covers a lot about developing your relationship with yourself.

We see the world through the lens of ourselves - our thoughts, our feelings, our view of the world - so it makes sense that to be the best person we can truly be, we need to know ourselves as intimately as we think we know our lovers.

We need to truly understand what motivates us, what stalls us, what truly lies beneath the way we react and respond to the world around us.

So the first question I have for you to ponder is - are you treating yourself the way you treat others?

"Love thy neighbor as thyself" is one of the tenets of the New Testament, and as I often people-watch I wonder - do the people I watch truly love themselves?

What we put out in the world is a reflection of what we have and who we are inside. Do you really know who you are? Do you know the root cause of your reactions to people, places, and things?

I challenge you for the next week to take note of your reactions and to apply the 5 Whys to each one to get to the true root of that particular response. If you don't have at least one "Ah Ha!" moment doing this, either you know yourself very well - in which case, great! - or you are not going deep enough. Whichever it is is up to you to know.

CALL TO ACTION: What can you do right here, right now, to better take care of your Self?

CHECK IN: We had two Calls to Action last month:

• Breaking one resolution you made for the new year down into clear, concise, achievable goals - and then moving out on those goals.

• Identifying the impetus for change in your life - is it coming from within you or from an outside force?

How are you doing with these Calls to Action?

I can tell you that I am working my resolution to eat better hard and heavy by packing a salad for lunch during the work week. I have also cut my soda consumption from nearly daily during the work week to 3-4 in the last month. I have also dropped four pounds since the start of the New Year - baby steps, but steps forward for sure!

NEXT TIME: We will continue with the theme of Relationships. The exact topic, however, has not come to me yet.

If you have a specific topic that relates to the theme of the month you would like to see addressed, please feel free to post about it in the comments or send me an e-mail about it.

Until next time, Namaste!

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Questions? Comments: Feel free to contact me at the e-mail address below.

Beth Henderson, MaXIMIzer
maximize.beth@gmail.com

MaXIMIze - How Are You Sharing Thy Bounty?

Prior to the events in France last weekend, I was all set to write about Sharing Thy Bounty in the usual way - by focusing on showing our gratitude by sharing our abundance - money, things, and time - with those people and charities who embody our values and share our ideals with others.

The events that unfolded in Paris and Mali over the past week have once again reminded me that we are all human beings first and all else comes second, and that we should share our bounty with all, not just those who are just like us.

Who are you more likely to emulate - the person who gave you a hand up when you needed it or the person who turned his back and locked his gate against you?

Which impression do you want to leave with others - that you are a loving, giving person or that you are a bitter miser who gives nothing to others?

What bounty are you sharing with the world today?

What bounty would you like to share with the world today?

What does that look like? How does that feel?

I enjoy sharing my bounty of thoughts and ideas with you, and hope that what I share helps you in some way - large or small - while you are MaXIMIzing yourself and MaXIMIzing your life.

Next week will be the last weekend of the month of Gratitude and then we move on to Celebration.

Even with all that is going on in the world today, there is still so much to celebrate - big and small - and for that I am grateful.

Until next time, Namaste!

MaXIMIze - Practicing Extreme Self-Care

Yes, I know, I said we'd touch on several topics this month, including optimism vs. pessimism, abundance, and lack - and we will. However, February is the month of love - the 14th is Valentine's Day after all - and who should we foster an attitude of love and forgiveness with and for most of all? Ourselves!

We should be our own biggest cheerleaders, keeping ourselves focused on the "Yes, And" thoughts. In fact, we should be our own head cheerleader, gathering around us a team of other cheerleaders who support and encourage our goals and dreams.

I know I've said it before, however it warrants repeating over and over again - if you've ever flown, you've heard the flight attendance tell us, in case of emergency, to put on our own oxygen masks before helping those around us put on theirs.

In order to help others grow and thrive, we need to help ourselves grow and thrive first. We need to be a light unto our own path in life.

How can we save someone else if we are drowning ourselves?

So I ask you this - how are your practicing extreme self-care in your life?

Until next time, love thyself.

Namaste!

MaXIMIze - Your Most Important Relationship - You!

This month's blog topic is Relationships. Over at least the next five posts, we will touch on various types of relationships in our lives - however, since this is a blog about personal coaching and personal development, the relationship and interaction we are going to focus most on is the one with ourselves.

The relationships we have with others are mirrors of the one we have with ourselves.

What I mean by this statement is: No one can make us feel one way or another. Our feelings, particularly as a reaction to someone else's action, come from within. Since they come from within we can choose the way we feel about and respond to (rather than react to) the actions of someone else.

My book, MaXIMIze: Take Your Life in Your Arms and Kiss It! covers a lot about developing your relationship with yourself.

We see the world through the lens of ourselves - our thoughts, our feelings, our view of the world - so it makes sense that to be the best person we can truly be, we need to know ourselves as intimately as we think we know our lovers.

We need to truly understand what motivates us, what stalls us, what truly lies beneath the way we react and respond to the world around us.

So the first question I have for you to ponder is - are you treating yourself the way you treat others?

"Love thy neighbor as thyself" is one of the tenets of the New Testament, and as I often people-watch I wonder - do the people I watch truly love themselves?

What we put out in the world is a reflection of what we have and who we are inside. Do you really know who you are? Do you know the root cause of your reactions to people, places, and things?

I challenge you for the next week to take note of your reactions and to apply the 5 Whys to each one to get to the true root of that particular response. If you don't have at least one "Ah Ha!" moment doing this, either you know yourself very well - in which case, great! - or you are not going deep enough. Whichever it is is up to you to know.

Over the next few weeks we will be discussing dealing with toxic people, letting go of the past, holding on too tightly (sands and hands), and guilt.

There are likely to be more challenges along the way - I encourage you to do the work to get to know your true self.

Until next time, Namaste!