So, you wanna live a life beyond the ordinary, beyond the day-to-day… you desire to experience a BEAUTIFUL existence, and not just merely get by. You’re the kind of Woman who desires to engineer a BEAUTIFUL LIFE + not just look the part on Instagram. I’m with you, Sister! And I’m glad you’re here! Enjoy these 20 practical ways to add a lil BEAUTY to your life!
Beautiful Mind
Your Life is only as Beautiful as Your Mindset… so we’ll start here! We all know our thoughts become actions, so it’s of the utmost importance to be able to LEAD our emotions and to be able to renew our minds DAILY! Start with asking yourself questions out loud and then answering your questions out loud! It could be as simple as asking yourself, “Do I want to stay upset for the rest of the day? Is this really how I want my day to go?” Once you hear the words, it’s easy to come up with the answer. The hard part is FOLLOWING THROUGH. Here are some important questions to ask yourself:
What is my current mindset? How do I see the world and myself?
What is my dream mindset? How would my thoughts be different if I felt completely healthy, whole, and beautiful?
What is the distance between my current mindset + my dream mindset?
Daily Affirmations are amazing, and we all know we should be taking the time to put this into practice… but are we?? Here is a life hack to help make your affirmations feel more TRUTHFUL, especially when you feel so far away from the goals you have.
Instead of merely stating, “I am confident!” you can start by saying, “I’m the kind of woman who lives with a beautiful confidence where ever I go!” OR… instead of saying, “I’m a capable CEO,” when you haven’t even launched your start-up yet… you can start with, “I’m the kind of woman who will make an excellent CEO!”
Beautiful Talent
3. Trust your Talent. It may be easy for you to have faith in God, what He can do through others, and what He can do in the world around you, but are you limiting what He can do through YOU? When you limit yourself, you’re limiting what God can do through you. You don’t serve anyone by playing small! Grow your skills. Grow your confidence in your talent. Here are a few ways to do just that:
Eliminate worry + doubt by adding to your knowledge! It’s never too late to take your talent to the next level. Find a mentor who can help you elevate your talent. Take a class. Get an accountability partner. It can even be as simple as signing up for an online webinar with someone you admire.
4. Put Something on the Calendar! Yes, preparation sets us up for success… but at one point, you’re just gonna have to put yourself out there! And when you do, I promise you will learn so much! The Dead Sea is dead because there’s no OUTLET! There’s an input… but no output. Maybe the ONE THING that will actually fuel your confidence in your own talent is to simply use it! Step out in faith and serve others with your talent. This is how it grows! And… this is why God gave it to you in the first place.
Beautiful Voice
5. Be Grateful for Your Voice. I didn’t always think this way, in fact, I used to hate my voice. I spent so much of my life trying to avoid speaking in public because of a speech impediment I used to have. Thank God I had a major breakthrough in college when I was forced to take an Effective Speaking class to graduate! The first time I gave a speech in that class was one of the most intimidating things I’d done up until that point… but it was also one of the most FREEING moments for me, too. Some of you may not want to hear this, but… part of the process of finding your voice, is to step out into the unknown + learn what it means to BECOME BRAVE, and actually use your voice! Don’t wait to feel brave, do the brave thing, and your feelings will follow!
6. The Beauty of Having a Voice is that You Get to Use Your Voice! How are you using your voice? What story is your life speaking to others? What story does GOD want to speak through your life? Ask Him! Pray about it. Jesus was (and is) the Master Storyteller! People remember stories, people relate to stories, people open their hearts to stories. Make it a goal to become a Master Storyteller! (At least in regards to the stories of your own life.)
What story do you have to tell?
Who can you share your story with?
Beautiful Waiting
7. What are You Waiting For? Write down all the things you are currently waiting for? Then write down 5 ways in which you can use this waiting time to prepare for what you’re waiting on. Because waiting time isn’t wasted time… unless you do NOTHING with it! It’s the process that prepares you. There are so many BEAUTIFUL lessons + adventures to embrace during this time. Stop looking at “waiting” as something you have to endure… start looking at it as your time to BECOME the woman God has called you to BE!
8. Get Creative in this Season of Becoming! My lil niece, Amber Lynn would always ask me, “Who are you gonna be?!” every time I would babysit her! I love her adventurous heart + we shared an affinity for Disney Princesses, so we often played MAKE BELIEVE when we were together! And now, as adults, I still ask myself that question, “Jess… who are you gonna be?” Because I have complete control over how I respond to life. I get to choose who I become. And you do, too. To help us along our journey, let’s use ART to inspire us!
Make a Vision Board
Create a Musical Playlist
Use an app like Word Swag to make Encouraging Quotes
Read a New Book every month that supports your Dream Life
Beauty in the Pain
9. With God, there is Always Purpose in our Pain. This may be hard to wrap our minds around, but aren’t you happy to know that our pain isn’t wasted! We go through the things we go through, to help others get through it, too. Pain produces COMPASSION in our souls. Compassion isn’t a feeling, it’s an action.
What’s the most painful thing you’ve gone through?
Who do you know that is going through the same thing?
Call them up and ask, “How can I help you?”
10. God is close to the Brokenhearted. The physical pain I’ve endured all my life has helped me grow my faith and has helped my perspective take an eternal shift which helps me see life and people in a whole new way! Like when I fly, I request a window seat and look down at the small earth below... suddenly I have to look at the world from a different perspective and I’m reminded that I am not in control. God is. So I ask,
“God, what do you want from me in this season?”
“What shall I focus on?”
“How can I trust you more?”
Beautiful Body
11. Change the Way You Talk To Your Body. Instead of complaining about my body, I’ve started to thank my body! Think about it!! Our body does soooo much for us! It wants to be good to us. Our brain is programmed to protect us. Our body wants to live life to the fullest! I used to say things like, “I hate my back.” (From the painful scoliosis I’ve had all my life.) Now I say, “Thank you Spine for working so hard for me, I know you’re doing your best to stay in alignment.”
What can you thank your body for?
How can you start speaking kindly to your body?