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1. Self-Respect. Being respectful of others is most definitely an admirable quality, but more importantly, we must always respect ourselves. Once we genuinely respect who we are, the potential we can fulfill, and the dreams we dare to dream, we then gain strength to refuse to be treated disrespectfully by others who may wish to pigeon-hole, stereotype or discriminate against us.
2. Integrity. The first ingredient necessary to acquire integrity is to know what we value, what we wish to protect, encourage and cultivate. Integrity involves standing up or speaking out when it isn’t the popular thing to do, but rather the right thing to do. It means you are clear about what you can and cannot tolerate, and you in your own way, stand up for your values. Having integrity means staying true to your word, being honest, telling the truth and treating others as you would prefer to be treated.
3. Compassion. Choose to live in such a way that you are considerate of others feelings and choose to help not to gain something in return, but to simply offer yourself, your time, and your resources when you can. Compassion also involves placing yourself in others’ shoes, doing your best to understand how they might be feeling. While compassion involves tough love, most importantly, it involves love.
4. Applied Wisdom. Regardless of where we go to school, who are parents are or where we grow up, knowledge is available for us to grab if we choose to look. Inner beauty suggests an inner strength to do what may not be expected, but what we wish for ourselves. When we take knowledge and apply it to improve our lives and the world around us, our inner beauty shines.
5. Perpetual Curiosity. In order to continually gain wisdom, remain forever curious. Ask questions, listen to those with more wisdom, try new things, travel, read, simply be aware that the world if full of lessons to be learned and experiences to enjoy.
6. Not a Push-Over or a Pleaser. While being compassionate and kind, it can be quite easy to become someone who is ready to agree to any demand in order to please those we live with or work with. Consciously decide not to be a pleaser or a push-over simply to avoid confrontation, but instead be strong enough to reveal who you are and what you can and cannot do. Set boundaries. Dig deep for your inner strength.
7. Flawed, Yet Not Frozen. Often the knowledge that we are not perfect stands in the way of treating ourselves with respect and requiring that others do the same. No one is perfect. Every one has made mistakes, and we will continue to make mistakes. Accept the past, be determined to learn the lesson and then respect yourself and your one life to move forward with integrity and determination.
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