I'm 35.

 I used to be a broke, depressed single mom with no idea what I wanted to do in my life.

 I did everything I was told. I got a master's degree, succeeded in a demanding career and worked hard. I went to church every Sunday, and tried not to ever ask for help or need anything. By the time I was 30 I found myself burnt out , alone and unfulfilled with the path I was on.

 I felt like I was a passive participant in a life that was passing me by. I thought I knew what I wanted but it was clear that what I wanted didn't want me. I felt like I didn't have any control over what happened to me and that my life was a result of fate or luck.

 Then I discovered manifestation and mindfulness. These practices changed my life forever.

 Here are 3 things that helped me learn how to take back control of my life.

1." You will become what you think about" - Earl Nightingale.

 This quote motivated me to analyze my own thoughts and to get honest about the way I was thinking about my life. Before I understood this- I didn’t pay much attention to my thoughts. I never made the connection between my thoughts and my reality. Up until this moment I only associated my thinking with solving complex problems at work. I didn't know my thoughts had any other function other than thinking through an issue. I always thought that thoughts were just thoughts and nothing more. I knew that I needed to 'think before I speak' and to keep mean thoughts to myself -but that was it. This simple realization is what changed the course of my life.  The way we think is the foundation for our lives. It is nearly impossible to live a happy life while thinking angry thoughts. This was the first step in taking back control of my life.

2.Developing a Mindfulness practice

I was desperate to change my life so I decided to dive into the rabbit hole of my mind. It was challenging at first because I was so disconnected from myself. My mind did what it wanted - almost like it was on auto pilot. It was a fight to sit with myself. Mindfulness practices helped me become more aware of what I was thinking. The practice helped reveal where I was spending most of my attention each day.

 After a few weeks of consistent practice, it became clear what my limiting beliefs were. I discovered that my mind was always racing from one worried thought to another. This usually kept me up at night making it hard to sleep.  My outlook on life was very negative. I felt like other successful people were lucky or had rich parents. I noticed I thought very poor of myself and had low self-esteem.

 I was very saddened  that I never noticed how mean I was to myself in my head. I would scold myself harshly for every little mistake I made.  I didn't think men were capable of love. I also ruminated a lot on past traumas that I had experienced.  My mind was a mess and it became evident that this is why my life was also a mess.

 At first it was hard to face but I recognized that my life did reflect this ugly mindset. I did stress myself out racing from one thing to another. I was experiencing very negative situations in my life. I didn't have positive interactions with family and friends. I did struggle in just about every aspect of my life. This was a huge wake up call for me.

But I still wondered if I would really see any improvement in my life by simply changing the way I thought?

 I was so fed up. So here is what I did.

Daily Mediation

 Earl Nightingale explains that " You MUST become what you THINK about".

 I accepted that he was right. Fixing my mindset didn't cost any money and I didn't have anything to lose  so I decided that this is where I would begin. Since my mindfulness practice revealed that I was stressed, tired and negative. My goals were to calm my anxiety, get some sleep and think positively.

 I began doing a Vedic meditation 2 times a day for 20 minutes. Since I woke up with anxiety and struggled to sleep - I meditated first thing in the morning and again before bed.  Some meditation sessions went better than others . Over time I saw small shifts that resulted in big improvements in my life.  Meditation regulated my nervous system , reduced stress and my anxiety.  My time management skills improved  so I wasn't always 'rushing' around. I was sleeping better which put me in a better mood!

 After a few months of consistent meditation, it became time to start building a life I loved. These were the first steps I took to help me determine what I wanted in life.

In Closing

I encourage you to take an inventory of your own thoughts and to build a meditation practice.

These practices help build self-awareness and lay a strong foundation for the future you desire. If you need help meditating reply to this email and I would be glad to help you. I am working on a guided mediation which will be available soon!

 In the next letter, I will share my next steps for how I manifested more money and better relationships. I’m excited to share the '30 Day Notecard' technique to manifest an abundant and healthy life.

 Thanks for reading my story. It means a lot. I love sharing what has helped me with hopes that it will help you too.

Kendall Liann