Dr. Anupama Gadiraju is an astute academician and institution builder with PhD in Marketing. She has over 22 years of experience in teaching, training, institution building and consulting. She holds master’s degrees each in Marketing and HR and a Doctorate in Marketing from the university of Hyderabad. She is an expert resource in branding and experience management as well as human values. She is associated with Several national level training centres and is a member of committees at several degree and PG colleges.
Life is lived once, and it’s a matter of how we live it. Many would have lived and passed the journey without even knowing the ‘what’ of it. However, its those that live it to the fullest that decode it to be lived with laughter and positivity. The article discusses one of the myriad ways in which we could build positive vibrations in and around us. I know that most of you will think that it is related to yoga and meditation. It is as a matter of fact closely related to inner pursuit. Yet I have tried to list out 20 amazing tips to develop positive vibrations. Practicing these tips would be a task no doubt, but they are realistic, practical and less cumbersome. To make them actionable, each of them is discussed with the action plans, live cases and ‘to do’ activity list.
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection” – The Buddha
Many people feel that spending time on themselves is being selfish, and I don’t know where that thought has its root. Being obsessed with self is something entirely different from giving ourselves as much importance as we give to others. The oriental culture, which gives much emphasis on family and responsibilities of the individual towards family and society, has often been misquoted in this context. However I feel that this has been misunderstood over the generations that one must not give any importance to self and if someone does that, she/he is considered to be self-centered.
Loving one self is the first precursor for any kind of positivity. I strongly feel that if we don’t love ourselves, then we are incapable of extending it to others. Loving self usually starts with accepting our flaws and strengths. Once we accept ourselves, it is easier to go ahead and stand up for ourselves. Validation of self often leads to minimization of inner conflict thereby eliminating negativity at the base level. Although this doesn’t by itself bring positivity, yet it would help in creating a neutral environment for you to accept the challenges of life with clarity and a sense of self-respect. Over a period of time this would no doubt usher in positive vibes that would bring more confidence and sense of security.
In the rat race of life, we are losing our self. We forget to take time off and spend with ourself. We often fail in the present day to convince ourself leave others, as we no longer are connected to self. We live in three myths:
- We know our self very well.
- We assess others perfectly
- We know where we are headed.
All these three myths are busted when we face the harsh reality of discovering things going differently than expected, people behaving oddly when we think they would stand by us, and our plans going haywire coz we had not been realistic about them. These discrepancies cause negativity and frustration. How can one do away with this? I have a simple four-step process that would help you get grounded in your thoughts and being as well as actions:
- Accept self (Flaws and strengths)
- Identify and address conflict within (What you represent and what you don’t)
- Eliminate negativity (Do away or avoid)
- Love self unconditionally
You would exude positivism when you are sure of yourself first, and this would enable you to relate better to the outside world. One word of caution is that this love for self should not degenerate into an obsession. That would be very dangerous. However, loving oneself and making peace with self is the first ever step towards inner peace and brings positivity.
Love yourself first, as you can spread love only when you are filled with it. When we can deal with self and are at peace we exude positive vibrations. Here are some of the self love activities that I thought would make a lot of difference to our vibrations and charge them.
The self-love activities
- Take care of your appearance and attire.
- Pamper yourselves at least once in a while.
- Be conscious of your weaknesses, and try to overcome them.
- Acknowledge your strengths and build on them.
- Never accept anyone bullying you.
- Don’t compromise on your basic likes and tastes.
- Stand by your ideas and don’t be apologetic if they are not accepted.
- Don’t accept anything, if you don’t like it.
- Don’t entertain people who try to put you down.
- No one is perfect so don’t try to be a superhuman, nor expect others to be so.
Loving oneself brings hope to the person, and if its carefully balanced with an objective view of self and doesn’t escalate into narcissism, one would be definitely giving out positive vibes.