When life feels stressful and out of control, or when you feel frustrated and disappointed, the first tendency is to start pointing fingers. The economy, the government, your family, your boss, that thing your teacher said to you in 3rd grade…

The problem with blaming those outside events is that it leaves you feeling powerless. It puts you in the position of being a victim.

You’re not a victim to outer events. Instead, you have an incredible amount of personal power that wants to work for you.

Your personal power determines your level of resilience, your stamina, your creativity, your flexibility, and even your “luck”. Having said that, you want to protect it, right?

Learn to Thrive and not Just Survive with these Resilience Power Tips

Common daily habits are draining your personal power, so let’s put a stop to them.

Focusing on the gap.

Looking at what’s missing is a fast ticket to a stressful and disappointing life.

It leaves you feeling like nothing is ever good enough. That ultimately translates into you never feeling good enough about yourself either.

It makes you resent or envy good people who happen to have what you want.

It postpones your happiness until some future date when you finally get what you’ve been desiring. When that special thing does show up, you start craving something else and the cycle begins again.

Instead of focusing on the gap, look at all you have right now. Look at it with gratitude and an excited expectation for the good that’s still to come.

Focusing on what’s missing attracts more of conditions that seem not good enough. What we focus on expands, right? Do you want to expand your feelings of lack and missing things? Or do you want to expand your sense of fullness, wholeness, happiness, and satisfaction?

Focusing on what you have already with gratitude sets up a vibration of abundance. You’re showing the Universe you’re happy and grateful, and that attracts more instances of being happy and grateful.

We all want our lives to continue to expand. We have hopes and dreams. Look forward to them with excitement, but don’t focus on the gap that lies between you and them.

Taking in media that tears down instead of builds up.

It’s hard to get away from the constant chatter from the media. Since you’re surrounded by it so often, choose it carefully.

Your music, your video games, your tv shows and movies, your news sources, and your social media are all putting out an energy that surrounds you nearly all your waking hours.

Is that energy building you up or is it tearing you down?

Media companies know that shock and fear sell, so they put out the most alarming content they have. Then they repeat it over and over again.

There’s no shortage of distressing news and stories in the world. Don’t turn a blind eye to them, but also don’t be immersed in them.

Stay aware, then make the bulk of what you’re consuming be uplifting and positive.

If your media consumption leaves you agitated, stressed, depressed, or grumpy, turn away from it. Find something that uplifts you instead.

Going against your inner wisdom.

Going against your inner wisdom can show up in any area of your life. To simplify it, any time you say yes when you really want to say no, or you say no when you really want to say yes, you’re going against your inner wisdom.

When those red flags start waving, don’t talk yourself out of them. Don’t twist yourself into a pretzel to defend something you know in your heart is wrong.

All sorts of pressures, both internal and external, can make you feel like you should or shouldn’t do something.

Get quiet so you can hear what that small inner voice has to say. It’s the voice you hear when you bring your focus out of your head and down into your gut.

That’s the voice you need to trust. That’s the voice of your personal power. You won’t be misguided by it.

Being mean spirited or gossiping.

Being mean spirited or gossiping gives the ego a little boost. It can feel good to put someone else down when you’re feeling bad yourself.

Any charge you get out of being mean spirited or gossiping is at best temporary, and it never will lead to you experiencing a better life.

Being mean spirited and gossiping are bad habits so ingrained in our culture that at first glance you may not even realize you’re doing it.

Become aware of the words you speak about others. As tempting as it is, keep it positive. Again, energies lift us up or break us down. Refuse to participate in talk that tears down anyone, any group, or anything.

Being anything but truthful.

Being honest at all times isn’t easy. Some things are hard to say.

Whatever the reasons are for choosing to not be 100% honest, the effect is the same. It takes away from your personal power when you aren’t honest.

An inner lie detector exists within you. Your body and your soul know when you aren’t being truthful. You may be able to fool other people (and I insist you’re not fooling them as much as you think), but you can’t fool yourself.

The next time you’re not being truthful, pay attention to what you feel in your gut. There’s a sensation there that just doesn’t feel right.

You’re breaking down your health and giving away your personal power when you aren’t truthful.

Trust that you can deliver the truth in appropriate ways. Believe in yourself enough to know you deserve to be heard. Be bold.

Junk food, drugs, and alcohol.

We all know that too much crappy food and too much alcohol aren’t good for us, so I’m not going to write about the science of that.

It’s not just your blood pressure and waistband that suffer from unhealthy food and drink choices, your personal power suffers too.

When you take in unhealthy food, drugs, and drinks, you’re putting an energetic vibration into your body. Is it building you up or tearing you down?

Like all the other power draining habits listed above, your ego may feel a temporary high from the junk you put in your body, but ultimately, you’re draining your personal power, and your life is sacrificing for it.

To sum it up, pay attention to these seemingly small daily habits.

It’s these day to day small habits in your life that create the big picture. They lay the foundation for the quality of your life. Invest in building yourself a strong foundation.

If you’ve been trying to make changes and progress in your life, turn inside first. Take an inventory. Clean up any areas that are draining your personal power. You’ll see rapid results in how you feel, how other people treat you, and your ability to create the life you want.

All images open source from Pixabay.com