Inspiration can be quite subjective. What inspires you may not necessarily inspire me, and that’s absolutely okay. Many times we see quotes floating around the internet without knowing what they mean and how to apply them into our lives. The following quotes have been the most influential to me and they represent the values I live by. I hope they are as inspiring to you, as they have been to me.
1. “Be the change you wish to see in the world” Gandhi
Okay, so Gandhi didn’t actually say it like that. What he actually said was:
“…If we could change ourselves, the tendencies of the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait for what others do.”
In other words, treat others as you would like to be treated. Change begins with you, and you only. For instance, I have seen people protesting for peace while creating chaos in the process. I have seen people stand for positive body image while body shaming others. Have you seen a little quote going around that says “real women have curves”? The intention behind it may be a good one, but it’s quite far from body positive. Why? Because it praises women with curves while shaming women without curves. There are women out there battling certain conditions that causes them to lose a lot of weight. How do you think she would feel if she read “real women have curves”? Body positive means that all bodies are equally worthy. This is the true meaning of equality.
When I became a vegetarian, I would talk to friends and family about why vegetarianism was great and why they needed to become vegetarian too. Big mistake! What I learned was that you don’t get people to change their ways by telling them to do so. Instead, you can become an example yourself. By being healthy myself, I encourage others to do the same.
“Be the change you wish to see.” If you want positivity around you, then be positive and set an example for others. If you want people to be more kind to one another, then be kind to others yourself. It’s that simple.
2. “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Deciding what you want is the most important ingredient in the process of manifestation. If you want directions, you first need to decide where you are going. There is no way around this. When you know what you want, you are setting an intention. And that my friends, that is very powerful. Setting your intention puts your subconscious mind into action mode. Ideas begin to pop-up, key people start to show up, and books and articles containing information needed to manifest start to appear like magic. When I need to create a yoga sequence, the hardest part, for me, is to come up with an intention. Once I decide what I want to focus on, either a pose or a theme, the poses that I need for the best possible sequence start to fly in. Just like that. Before you can create a plan of action, you must decide what you want.
3. “Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience” Ralph Waldo Emerson
We, human beings, are nature. We need nature to survive, and nature needs us. We are all one. Nature doesn’t worry about when the rain will come. It patiently waits for the spring, and the rain shows up. The most fascinating thing about this is that, just like seasons change throughout the year, so do we. For instance, spring is a time of growth and new beginnings. You plant your seeds (intention), wait for the rain and sunshine (also know as inspired action or what you need to make things happen), and then wait for growth (your dream or goal). In the summer, crops need constant care to survive. In the fall, we keep what is good, but we must let go of what isn’t. Winter is a time of introspection. It is a time to think about what we want, in preparation for spring. Once I became aware of this fascinating fact, I was able to understand so much about events that had happened in my life. The next time you go through a change of season, pay attention to the things that are going on in your life. You might have an “ah ha” moment.
4. “A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes.” Gandhi
Our thoughts shape our lives. And because we have the ability to change our thoughts, we also have the ability to change our lives. I know, it is easier said than done. But it is proven fact. This subject can be complicated to explain in one post because the thoughts we think come from our beliefs, which ultimately come from our upbringing, experiences, and overall social environment. A thought, whether positive or negative, is like a command to the subconscious mind. So when you’re constantly saying to yourself:
“I’m so out of shape”
“I’m never gonna to get that job”
“I can’t do that”
You are actually sending these commands to your subconscious mind, which eventually shape your reality.
So how do we change our thoughts when we’ve been wired into thinking a certain way our whole lives? The best way to undo negative thinking is to be more conscious of what we think about. In other words, to be the observant of the thoughts we think in each situation. There is no need to judge the thought, or judge yourself for having the thought. Meditation is a great practice of self-awareness. Before you say to yourself “I can’t afford that” perhaps you can change that statement into “not today, but definitely another day.” The key is to observe with compassion, and without judgement. We are humans doing the best we can.
5. “The only way to do great work, is to love what you do.” Steve Jobs
When you hate what you do, you feel miserable and drained. You could care less about the work and whether you grow or not. I love my work as yoga teacher. I love the practice of yoga, what it stands for, and the opportunity of serving others in a meaningful way. It is the one job I never want to be late to and the one job I really want to do well in. Because I love the job, I am able to do it well. On the other hand, when I worked other jobs, I didn’t really care much about growth, so my work wasn’t exactly the best.
6. “Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life thinking that it is stupid” Albert Einstein
I am not a professional writer and English isn’t even my first language. My posts here will not have perfect spelling, grammar, and be as creative as others’ may be. I am ok with that. As I mentioned in my “How to start a yoga practice – 5 tips for yoga beginners”, us humans are very quick to judge our abilities based on a first try or something totally out of our comfort zone. The fact that you can’t balance in a handstand when you first try it doesn’t mean that you can’t do a handstand. You may just need to put in the time and dedication to eventually be able to balance on your hands. Learning is a process and it takes time.
7. “If not now, when? Eckart Tolle
I used to think I needed to have it all figured out before I could start something new. I still do sometimes. But the reality is that there will always be something to wait for. Everything won’t always be perfect. This actually reminds me of another quote that goes “life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” I’ve learned that if you want to do something, you have to start with whatever you have. You will figure things out along the way. You will fail, but then you will succeed when the time is right. The key is to start somewhere and with an open mind.
8. “Failure is an opportunity to begin again, more intelligently” Henry Ford
Some of the most successful individuals in history experienced a great deal of rejection and failure. Walt Disney was fired as an artist because he wasn’t creative enough, and Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Of course, these men did not stop there because we all know what they went on to accomplish. I take the concept of success and failure into my yoga teaching any chance I get. When instructing a difficult pose, a balancing one for example, I remind my students that falling is only part of the process and that the only way to learn how to balance, is to be okay with falling. One failure is only a piece of the puzzle that makes up success. It is an opportunity to learn something that will take us closer to our goal. Never give up on your dreams. You may be closer than you think.
Blessings to All!