8 Ways to Cheer for Yourself

I’ve learned to overcome obstacles by cheering myself on with these simple ways.

From my experience, I’ve learned that one thing that sparks all the faculties of the brain—from attention to insight to creativity—is having a purpose. By a purpose, I don’t mean a short-term goal or a task given by someone else. I’m referring to an overarching vision for our lives that we choose for ourselves.

My purpose is what my entire life is about. It excites me and drives me to take on challenges I would never have dared to otherwise. It pushes me out of my comfort zone and makes me want to live as long as I can, even up to 120 years.

In the face of a life purpose we stake everything on, fears fall away and attachments no longer matter as the small self vanishes. We become bold. A life purpose illuminates our consciousness, making it bright like a blazing sun that clears away any darkness. If we turn away from our life purpose, on the other hand, our consciousness gradually darkens and our world closes in on itself.

Despite the energy and awareness that focusing on my purpose gives me, I’ve had to face doubts and worries as I’ve encountered many obstacles. At these times, I’ve learned to get past them by cheering for myself. With practice, I’ve found that encouraging myself can be as easy as flipping my hand over. And I’ve developed some favorite ways to do it.

Ways to Cheer for Yourself

1. Give yourself encouraging messages.
   Looking into your eyes in a mirror, say something to encourage yourself. Give yourself energizing and hopeful information, information that can lead to good actions. It can be as simple as, “I believe in myself,” and “I can do it!” Or you can be more specific, such as telling yourself, “I will speak my truth today!” Our brains are really just like computers. They operate according to the information that has been input into them. Our brains respond the instant we judge something to be beneficial and choose it. For instance, it sees new possibilities and discovers new actions to take.
2. Bless yourself.
   Blessings do not only need to come from situations or other people. We can give blessings to ourselves. For example, we can call out our name to get our brain’s attention and imagine brilliantly bright particles of light coming down to us through the top of our head. These light particles (or LifeParticles as I call them) fill us with brightness so that how we see the future and the world around us becomes brighter as well. Even simply knowing we can create blessings in our life also helps bring them to us.
3. Remember your value.
   Each one of us is invaluable, but it can be difficult to remember when we come up against what seem like our shortcomings. I suggest taking up the attitude: “I came to Earth because the 21st century Earth wanted me desperately.” Yes, each person and their purpose are needed right now, simply because they were born. Have confidence that what you are doing is important!
4. Smile and laugh for no reason.
   If you’re feeling discouraged, putting on a smile or laughing out loud can quickly raise your mood. Research has shown that smiling activates hormones that boost mood, calm the stress response, and improve immunity. Moreover, just moving your facial muscles into a smile can cause this effect. Putting a smile on your face can make you better able to face the world.
5. With a cheerful face and voice, show interest in and praise the people around you.
   When we feel like we’re drowning in our own problems, it can feel counterintuitive to try to help others. But giving someone a smile, encouraging words, and an attentive ear can put our own lives into perspective. Also, by helping others, we heal ourselves. Opening our heart to others with these actions circulates the energy from our hearts throughout our bodies. This energy calms our thoughts and emotions and lets us feel hope for the future. It even helps create the Water Up, Fire Down energy circulation inside that we need for a strong body and brain.
6. Go for a walk.
   It’s common knowledge that stepping outside for simple exercise such as walking refreshes our bodies and brains. Many people use walking to organize their thoughts, relieve strong emotions, and come up with creative solutions. I recommend mindful Longevity Walking for the added benefit making Water Up, Fire Down energy circulation. With Longevity Walking, you focus your attention on the soles of your feet, which clears your thoughts and emotions more quickly.
7. Move or shake your body freely with abandon.
   Our mood improves when we shake our bodies and brains. This kind of free dancing helps relax our bodies and slow down our brain waves. If we do it while focusing on how our bodies feel, it helps connect our brains with our bodies. Unlike a structured or habitual exercise, moving and shaking without set ideas or judging ourselves helps us break free and think outside the box. Most importantly it makes us happy and joyful!
8. Look on the bright side.
   Find the advantages of or lessons in every situation you face. Whatever happens, there is always something beneficial to take away from it. When you have this perspective, no situation can knock you down. Instead, you can find hope in every circumstance.

These weapons against discouragement can be used individually or in combination, depending on your preference or how much cheer you need. Do them until your mind and mood change.

Enjoy Ilchi Lee’s blog posts?

Keep up-to-date with weekly wisdom delivered directly to your email inbox.

Sign Up Now

No Conditions Necessary

True happiness and cheer don’t come only under certain conditions. Of course, they do come sometimes when certain conditions are met. Such conditional joy and happiness are not perfect, though, for they may change at any time depending on the environment and conditions. What’s important is the fact that fundamental peace and joy are innate to us, allowing us to be joyful, peaceful, bold, and confident no matter what our outside circumstances. We can choose them at any time by choosing to work on our life purpose and cheering ourselves along the way.

Whatever purpose you choose for your life, cheer yourself on and be a source of hope for yourself. Once you have been a hope for yourself, you can help others as well.

Related Posts

• [Video] Finding Hope in the Brain
• The Destiny Formula
• It’s Your Choice
• Resolve to Live a Life of Joy
• Shed Your Struggles with Light