Tips For Finding Your Inner Core

1-Think of yourself as a person, not a lable. Rediscover who you really are, and go slowly from there.
2-Think of yourself as ageless, so that every day will be a gift, not a signpost telling how far from the beginning you are, or how near the end. Each day will be a new beginning.
3-Unpack your trunk. Don't be afraid. It's easy once begun, just visualize.
4-Listen to yourself and believe what you hear. Only by practice can that inner voice strengthen enough to be heard above the roar of the crowd.
5-When you find your core, protect it at all costs. The core holds all your answers; it is the only thing that truly belongs to you. Share it with others, but never surrender it to anybody else, because your ability to find real peace lives there.
6-Be positive even when you have no reason to be. Be positive even when you are surrounded by negative pressure. Be positive when pain feels like the only emotion you have left. The ability to think, and act in a positive manner will only strengthen with use. The emotions inside of you, which respond to positive thinking (confidence, faith, love, hope, etc.) will increase too as you exercise positive thinking skills.
7-Realize that others will often be confused, or threatened by changes in you. Do your best to reassure the people you love that the changes in you do not affect how you look at them, but only alter the way you view yourself. Be kind whenever possible-let the war be inside you where it belongs.
8-Make new friends who have no frame of reference of who you were. Paint your image, for them, with bright colors then glory in the reflection you see there.
9-Surround yourself with people who make you feel good inside.
10-Avoid bullies at all costs. Anyone who has to stand on you to feel better about themselves just isn't worth the effort. If you live with one, adjust his or her attitude with love, but be firm about your refusal to eat their waste.
11-Pick your battles. Do not argue your point of view in screaming matches. Keep still, using the time to decide what you will say softly once their breath runs out. If you refuse to respond to negative behavior with anything more than indifference others will use it less often as a tool of control. It is not the one who yells the loudest that makes peace;the one who speaks calmly and reasonably, while listening in the same way has the real power to work through problems.
12-Be honest with yourself always, even when the truth is painful. Things built on anything less will eventually crumble, setting your progress back. Embrace all the truths found in your search and work through the pain.
13-Realize that as you grow your ability to hurt others increases too. Do not be tempted to over-reach, or misuse your power. When others see you only use it to enact positive change, in the most nonviolent manner possible, they will be less threatened by your use of it.
14-Admit whenever you are wrong, first to yourself then the one offended by your actions. Eating crow is much easier when the bird is still warm.
15-Know yourself inside and out then let go. Take comfort from the good, do your best to change the bad, but accept your reality.
16-Never settle for less than is your due. Whatever the issue, decide your limits, hopes, and wishes then stand firm. Your opinion matters.
17-Bend when the situation warrants it, compromise is a healthy thing. But learn the difference between bending to a situation and bending to someone else for the sake of peace. The first will make you strong; the second will destroy your peace of mind.
18-Wipe the slate clean. Forgive past misdeeds freely with loved ones, as well as yourself. The only way you can change your future is by not reliving your past. Once a situation is resolved let it go forever. Begin each day free of the excess baggage negative emotions, (guilt, blame, resentment, etc.) cause inside of you. Learning positive thinking skills is impossible when you are saturated with negative emotions. Let it go.
19-As you gain confidence in yourself reach for new goals, new situations to master. Most limits in life are self-inflicted. Reaching past where you are today will assure that tomorrow you will not be standing frozen in the past, but creating the future.
20-When you have a set back, (and you will), do not let it stop you. Your commitment to becoming a whole, healthy human must be so unshakable nothing can destroy it.
21-Keep a journal. Write in it daily and read it often. You will gain invaluable insights, and seeing the direction of your footsteps is easier to do when it is mapped out in stark black and white.