Happiness Challenge Day 4

 

September 11th, Day 4 of the Happiness Challenge

1. Music makes me happy. It always amazes me how a particular song can impact me in such a powerful way. No matter where I am, certain songs have a way of transporting me back in time. Whether they help me to remember a loved one or empower me to keep fighting the good fight, music has a very special place in my heart. I still remember all the songs I used to listen to during those long drives with my mom on our mommy, daughter days. The song that was playing when I first got my heart-broken and the songs that remind me of those people who are longer by my side. Music comforts me in times of struggle and bring me closer to my power when I feel as though my situation appears hopeless. No matter the style of music, I can always I can always count on its ability to move me. I admire the individuals who create such works of art and I appreciate them for bringing such beauty to this world.

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination
and life to everything.” Plato

2. Embracing my emotions makes me happy. As a cancer I am by nature an emotional person. Rarely can I ever hold back  or hide the way I feel. Often sympathetic to other feelings, I struggle at times with the idea that I must take on others emotions as my own. While I recognize this within myself it is not an easy task to master. Everyday I welcome the emotions that stir from within me. I embrace and acknowledge them in the moment and do my very best to share my feelings whenever appropriate. Ignoring or pushing these feelings down has never served me. Historically it has only led me to brood over the things that make me unhappy. This only serves as a barrier to forward movement. Today I consistently practice embracing my truth. Whether pleasant or unpleasant our emotions are meant to be heard. They guide us to authenticity and to greater learning.

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart” Helen Keller

3. Practicing self-love make me happy. As a life coach I encounter quite a number of people whom struggle to love themselves. “I am not enough” is often a common theme I hear coming from individuals. Practicing self-love takes a lot of effort in a society that is constantly comparing you to others. Stepping out as a unique individual takes courage. I find that tag lines and mantra’s often aid me in my practice towards self-love. It is easy to fall into the habit of being overly critical of oneself, but it takes practice and patience to acknowledge the good we all have within us. Everyday I choose an area or quality in myself that needs attention and love. I focus my energy on building that area up and giving it the love and support it needs to overcome any of my negative thought patterns. I will repeat these positive words to myself from the start of my day. It sets the tone for the way I show up to the world and in addition, how I show up for myself. Learning to love oneself is not selfish in any way. It is healthy and absolutely necessary. We should be our greatest supporters and we should love who we are no matter what. 

“Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends.” Aberjhani 

 “I am powerful in my love for myself. The truth of my being is I love myself exactly as I am. I honor my empowered heart.” Amy Leigh Mercree

 

Ambition in the City

 

Back to Life

Hi my lovely ambitioninthecity readers. My sincerest apologies for not having posted in quite some time. It has been a very busy couple of months for me. I had to take a break from posting due to travels and some exciting life changes that have recently come up.

This January I will be expecting my first baby! I am excited to begin this next chapter in my life and am looking forward to seeing where this new adventure will take me and my amazing partner. I hope to return to blogging now that I have passed my first trimester and survived the lovely beginning symptoms of pregnancy. With a renewed sense of energy, I hope to bring Ambition in the City back to life. My coaching practice is still thriving in NYC but I really have missed connecting with people all over the globe. I look forward to writing again and I cannot wait to read all of your wonderful posts. It is good to be back!

I am ready to embrace all the new insights and learning I am sure to experience over the next few months and I look forward to sharing these insights with you all.

Thank you for all of your continued support.

Happy Blogging,
Cristina

Ponder This…

What will you STOP rejecting and what will you START embracing? 

Illustration Credit: suzannerivard.com

 

 

 

 

Do Stuff!!

Get out there and do stuff that matters! Go big, be bold and above all stop waiting for opportunities to present themselves. Create the life you want today! – Happy Matters LLC

For more information on living fully email me at creyeros@gmail.com

Now offering a complimentary coaching session to those that are CURIOUS about taking the next steps towards the life they have always envisioned. Sessions are offered in person or via Skype. Let’s get connected today! 

Say YES Today

How many times have you shied away from saying YES to you? 

 

Say YES today! I challenge you all to say YES to 5 things that will bring you joy today. When we say YES we acknowledge ourselves in a way that no one else can. We honor our truth and we step fully into our power. Stop putting your needs and desires on the back burner. When we say yes to ourselves we honor our needs and values. Let go of the notion that saying yes is self-serving.  How we treat ourselves sets the tone for how others treat us. Love yourself enough to say YES! Stop dreaming about a better life. Act upon it today.

Ambition In The City

Let’s Talk Future Self!

 

LET’S TALK FUTURE SELF!

3 Hour Vision Board Workshop hosted by Happy Matters LLC and RJSII Enterprises

Do you dream of being, doing, and having more in your life?
Do you want to set new realistic goals for your business, lifestyle or relationships?
Are looking to make significant shifts in your life but aren’t sure where to start?

Vision Boarding is a simple, fun process of letting your curiosity and creativity emerge from within, giving you insight into your dreams and deepest desires.

Using images and words from magazines, personal photos or whatever else resonates strongly with you, a collage is created that speaks to the things, feelings, people, aspirations and experiences that are important and meaningful to you now and in your future.

When you tap into your right brain in this playful, stress-free way, it can and will surprise you in ways you could never imagine!

Discover what’s possible as you come away from this experience with new insights and the energy to manifest your now-visible dreams.

In this workshop you will learn to:

• Embrace the Law of Attraction by harnessing the Power of Visualization
• Create a beautiful work of art that represents your inner yearning and hidden potential
• Send a message to the Universe with a clear intention of what you want to manifest
• Complete a life balance wheel that will assist you to take inventory of your life in the areas of community, career, money, health, relationships, spirituality, personal growth and recreation
• Develop a list of “next right steps” that will help guide your actions moving forward

Workshop Facilitators:

Cristina Reyeros CPC
Life Coach, Artist, and Blogger based in New York City. Owner of Happy Matters LLC and founder of ambitioninthecity.com, a motivational website devoted to inspiring individuals to live a life of purpose, passion and creativity. Cristina brings over eight years of experience in the field of psychology and mental health. Dedicated to assisting individuals to explore and play, Cristina combines her love of learning, psychology and art to assist her clients to tap into their courage, confidence and choice.

Rene John-Sandy II CPC
Rene John-Sandy II is an entertainment executive, life coach and nonprofit activist residing in Harlem, New York. As the CEO of RJSII Enterprises, Rene brings over twenty years of experience in talent management, entertainment marketing and brand management across the sports, music, and food and beverage industries.

Let’s activate the law of attraction and make your dreams a reality.
Fee: $45 To register please contact creyeros@gmail.com. Payments can be made via PayPal or cash at the door. Seating is limited-register early!

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The Cracked Pot: A Story of Purpose

A friend of mine recently shared this story with me and the moment I heard it, I knew I wanted to share it with you all. Whether this is your first time reading this story, or if you have come across it before, the story of The Cracked Pot is a great reminder of  individual uniqueness and purpose. We each come to this world with different flaws and sometimes it’s hard for us to see the good that  exists beyond those flaws.  We are all cracked pots.  This story helps to remind us that we need to take the time to appreciate each other for the beautiful, unique creatures that we are; to acknowledge the good that exists within all of us and to celebrate each others purpose because we all have one. Wishing you all a pleasant day. Hopefully this story will resonate with a few of you.

A waterbearer in India had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole, which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it. While the other pot was perfect, and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the mistress’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to her master’s house.

The perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream: “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”

Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”

“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your mistress’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in her compassion she said, “As we return to the mistress’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.

But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?

Photo Credit: katykulak.tumblr.com |

“That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them.

“For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my mistress’s table. Without you being just the way you are, she would not have this beauty to grace her house.”

Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots.

But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. We’ve just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them.

There’s a lot of good out there.

By Sacinandana Swami

“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it” -Gautama Buddha

Ambition In The City

Keep Moving Forward

Image Credit: Dougal Waters via Getty Images

 

It’s not always easy to leave things in the past but we can never truly heal until we open our eyes to all that is still ahead of us. What are you looking forward to? 

Ambition In The City

Speak Up!

 

Speak up!

You have been gifted with a unique voice. It is a voice that matters.  It is a voice that should be heard.  Commit to sharing  your thoughts and feelings as they emerge from within. We exist to discover and to speak our truth. When we avoid letting others know what we are thinking and feeling in the moment, we disregard our authentic self.  Speak your truth at every opportunity. Holding things in serves absolutely no one.

Ambition In The City

As I Began to Love Myself – A Poem on Self Love by Charlie Chaplin

As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering
are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth.
Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY”.

As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody
As I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time
was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this
person was me. Today I call it “RESPECT”.

As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life,
and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow. Today I call it “MATURITY”.

As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance,
I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens
at the exactly right moment. So I could be calm.
Today I call it “SELF-CONFIDENCE”.

As I began to love myself I quit steeling my own time,
and I stopped designing huge projects for the future.
Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do
and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in
my own rhythm. Today I call it “SIMPLICITY”.

As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for
my health – food, people, things, situations, and everything that drew
me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude
a healthy egoism. Today I know it is “LOVE OF ONESELF”.

As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since
I was wrong less of the time. Today I discovered that is “MODESTY”.

As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry
about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where EVERYTHING
is happening. Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it “FULFILLMENT”.

As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me
and it can make me sick. But As I connected it to my heart, my
mind became a valuable ally. Today I call this
connection “WISDOM OF THE HEART”.

We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born. Today I know THAT IS “LIFE”!

Loving oneself can bring about true healing and transformation. When I came across this poem I was so inspired, that I had to share this wonderful work of art with each and every one of you. With his powerful words filled with truth and intense emotion, Charlie Chaplin calls upon the reader to look upon themselves and ask, “Do I really love who I am and who I’m becoming?” I invite you all to breathe these words in and reflect on what it truly means to love yourself. Notice the world around you and how you relate to it. How have your misconceptions, attitude, self-esteem, and limiting beliefs all gotten in the way of you living a full and happy life? Have you come to believe that somehow you are not deserving of self-love, and that you do not merit all that comes with being gentle, kind, understanding, and most importantly, forgiving of yourself? Charlie Chaplin’s words brilliantly describe ones journey of self exploration and acceptance. With awareness of self and an open heart to accepting what is, Charlie describes the steps required to truly experience life in all its glory. Be your authentic beautiful self each and every day. Respect all those wonderful parts of you that are unique and truly special. Celebrate each day no matter the challenges and tests you are called to face. Evolution of self results when learn to accept that what happens to us in life is all part of a larger plan the universe has mapped out for us. There is no experience we aren’t capable of overcoming when we believe in our abilities and purpose in this world. Allow the wisdom of your heart to shine through. Let it guide you to the life you know you deserve. Love yourself and keep moving forward.

Ambition In The City