A Decade in Review- By Keri Mandell

Ten years ago, I was twenty-eight. I was married, living in Boston, and working in Brookline Public School. Such as in life, there were good times and bad. Over the last decade, my life has changed pretty dramatically. After having cancerous cells removed from my cervix and leaning I could never have kids, I was deeply depressed. Then finding out my dad and stepmom had terminal cancer, I found myself in a pretty dark and scary place. Now years later, I did climb out of the hole I was in and can say that I have truly learned to appreciate and love my life. Those dark times taught me that life is fragile. We do not know how long we have. I try to live every day to the fullest, strive to work hard and train hard, to be kind, give back, and hopefully inspire people along the way.  I want to leave my mark on this world so that when I look back at my life, I can say that I gave it my all, that I helped as many people as I could, making a difference in their lives through my actions and words.   

This decade was both good and bad. There were times when I felt like I was drowning and others when I felt invincible. Looking back and reflecting about the last decade has given me a chance to look back and see how far I’ve come. It’s given me a chance to learn some real and valuable sh*t. I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned with you.

Don’t be afraid to follow your heart and do what makes you truly happy.

In today’s society, we are told what to do, what to think, almost brainwashed a little.  For a long time, I felt I had to follow the norm and live by what I believed to be society's standards- you go to college, you get a job, you get married, you have kids, you die…

I was afraid to follow my dreams or even admit I had any. I was afraid to be different, to go against the grain, to stand out… well, now I say screw that. I live by my rules. I discovered over the last decade that fitness was a passion of mine. I was so distraught about the idea of not being able to have kids that I thought I was less of a woman, I was unworthy of love, I was tainted goods. I told my husband to divorce me. Then one day, a friend brought me to my first yoga class. I always say yoga saved my life and it did… it helped open new doors. Yoga has taught me to love myself, and it helped show me that I was so much more and stronger than I ever imagined. After finding yoga, I developed my love for physical fitness. Almost 5 years ago, I quit my job in education to pursue a career in the fitness industry and opened my own yoga studio- Empower Yoga. Was it easy?  HELL no!! Worth it? Absolutely!! I can honestly say that I am living my best life and while being a business owner is hard, I wouldn't have it any other way. I am happy and thriving and so incredibly grateful for my life. It has been so much more than I ever could have imagined.

Don’t be afraid to fail. You have to live your life.

Don't let the fear of failure hold you back from living your best life. Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. 

Resilience is the secret ingredient to success. If you can figure out how to stay the course and get back in the game after failure, you’ll go places and live your dreams. The truth is, most successful people have spent almost as much time down for the count than they do in the fight itself. For example, Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he created the light bulb. 

The lesson to learn from all successful people's stories is if you haven’t failed, you are not reaching high enough. You’re not stretching yourself. Playing it safe sounds easier at first glance, but it’s a mirage and will NEVER get you to where you want to be. If you are going places, failure is just part of the deal. You can fix failure, but you can’t fix the things you never tried. So stop playing it safe and get in the game!

My favorite quote is: Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” This is where the magic happens. You may fail, but so be it… You have to learn to fail in order to learn to be great. 

Don’t take rejection personally. 

Repeat after me… Rejection is not an expression of self-worth. I’ve experienced a lot of rejection over the last ten years- personally and professionally.  Rejection just means that there is something better out there for you. It’s redirecting you down the right path. Trust that the Universe has a plan and it knows what it is doing. 

Be grateful for where you are now while striving to reach new goals. 

Live in the moment every day. Be grateful for where you are and what you have NOW. While I believe goals and ambitions are important, what’s also important is appreciating the things in your life and the people in your life that are here NOW.  Sometimes we get so caught up in wanting more and more, we forget what's important and often what is in front of us. We need to be satisfied with what we have in this very, singular moment. 

Work out for your insides & not your outsides.

“Change happens from the inside out. Not the other way around.” 

I have always struggled with my weight and appearance. I suffer from body dysmorphia and have battled eating disorders for years. I’ve compared myself to other people and never felt like I matched up or was worthy. I felt like if I had or did certain things that I would be happy.  But what I discovered was that my outward appearance or circumstances still didn't make me happy. I had to stop comparing myself to others and learn to love myself first. 

What you manifest, you become.

Personal manifesting is unreal. If we take the time to visualize the way we want our life to be, truly write it all down, draw pictures of things we want to create and set the scene for our lives, THINGS HAPPEN. It sounds crazy, but it truly works. Think about your vision and goals for the future. Say them to yourself, talk about it to others, release it into the Universe and watch as things start to happen and appear. 

You are not that important to most people. 

I mean this kindly & honestly. PEOPLE AREN’T THINKING ABOUT YOU OR WHAT YOU ARE DOING AS MUCH AS YOU THINK THEY ARE. I struggled to learn this, especially growing up. Like most teens and young adults, you want to be “cool” and to fit in. We are always so concerned about what others think of us. We try to present ourselves in the best way (I mean look at most of the stuff people post on social media), we are afraid to be vulnerable or different.  We are afraid that if we don't have our lives figured out by a certain point that people won't take us seriously or we are less than. Stop trying to get people to like you. Honestly, no one cares if you’re not married, don’t have kids, gained ten pounds. The right people are going to like you no matter what and the others don't matter. But what matters most is that you like yourself!

No one has everything figured out.

We are all doing our best. We are constantly changing and evolving. It’s ok to not know what you want to do when you grow up. Believe me, I’m 38 and I’m still unsure sometimes. It’s ok to now have life planned out and figured out. Enjoy the process of becoming. 

Manifest Your Best Life!

We are always manifesting!

We are powerful manifesting beings, but since we have 50,000-70,000 unconscious thoughts per day, of which about 80% are negative, we’re not always manifesting the best things into our lives.

We need to remember that each thought we have, creates an energy flow within and around us. This energy attracts similar energy. So if you’re thinking, “I suck,” then your energy kinda sucks, and you’ll attract sucky experiences.

The opposite is true when you think positive thoughts like, “I rock” you exude an energy of confidence and therefore will attract greater experiences into your life. Each thought you have informs your energy and your energy manifests into your experiences . . . Your thoughts and energy create your reality.

Law of Attraction is the belief that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts, people can bring or manifest positive or negative experiences into their life. The law of attraction is not a magic wand, but with positive thinking, we can shift our feeling state to attract more of what we want.  Because our brains store negative experiences, we have to consciously and regularly build the positive mental muscle. We all have layers and layers of limiting beliefs and fears that block our ability to think more positively, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be done. It won’t happen overnight, but in time, we can shift our mindset from one of negative, to more positive.   

In order to become a master at manifesting with the law of attraction, we have to begin to rewire our brains and start replacing negative thought patterns with more positive, empowering patterns. 

As we head into the New Year, this is a perfect opportunity to begin the rewiring process.  Begin to think about what it is you want to manifest into your life and start to take the steps below in order to help make it happen.

Start today, clearing all that blocks you from believing in your greatness.

Ways to Manifest Your Desires

By implementing these daily positive practices into your lives, you will start  to shift and raise your energetic vibration that will produce good experiences and results! 

Notice your thoughts and clear space in your mind.

Begin by paying attention to what you focus on and observing your thoughts. Do you pay attention to what’s going right, or what’s going wrong? When you’re working on manifesting your dreams, obstacles and challenges will arise, but when you focus on what’s right, you increase your energetic vibration. Clear away any negative beliefs you have, these get in the way of your happiness and prevent you from believing in your greatness. Know that the universe shows up for you in many ways- if you lose your job or end a bad relationship, while these things may seem tough at first, there are lessons to be learned and new and better opportunities that await you.  

Write down your goals and connect to your “why.” 

Write down your goals or create a vision board. Doing so will not only help you get clear, but will help you create positive steps towards your dreams. Connecting to your “why” means connecting to the feeling that achieving the goal will give you. When we connect to the “why,” we raise our vibration and become magnets for attracting the people, circumstances, etc. that will help us achieve our goal.

Visualize what it will look like when you achieve your dreams. 

Hang your vision board in a place you can see it every day and/or read your written goals first thing in the morning and before going to bed at night; then take a few minutes each day  to visualize and connect with the feeling of achieving your dreams. Get it into your subconscious mind! The more you feel the feeling of what you desire, the more you believe it is on the way. 

Chill- the Universe has your back!

In order to manifest your desires into form, you gotta chill out! Stop waiting around with anxiety for your dream to happen and know what you desire is on the way. Trust that the Universe has a plan for you. You can’t always control the timing of when things come- so stay calm, relaxed, and remember that the Universe has your back! In time, what you desire will come through fruition.

Stay committed to happiness.

Trust that you’re exactly where you need to be. If life starts to feel chaotic or just plain overwhelming, sometimes you just need to surrender and learn to trust that things will work out. When one door closes, another door opens.

Practice breathing. 

Practice breathing from the belly, not the chest. This type of breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system which helps produce a sense of relaxation and contentment which allows us to be calm and clear.

Move your body.

Negative emotions get stuck and stored in our bodies on a cellular level. Moving is one way to release stress and negative energy. Perhaps practice yoga, go for a walk, dance, etc… Just work on releasing that stuck energy and clearing space for what the Universe has in store for you.

Keep a gratitude journal. 

Gratitude is one of the simplest ways to raise our vibration. When we recognize our great fortune and appreciate all our blessings, it automatically puts us in a “feel-good” energetic vibration.

Stay committed to the goal of feeling good first and attracting good stuff second. Continue to remind yourself that when you feel good you will energetically attract goodness into your life.  Be patient and stay strong. Trust that what you desire is on the way!