In ancient yogic philosophy we find tools that are very relevant in today's world. The Yamas are considered to guidelines for living and the first Yama is Ahimsa.

Ahimsa translates as non-violence. It is the practice of kindness and compassion to oneself and others. When we think of kindness in relation to how we treat ourselves and others we rarely think of our thoughts. However, many of us have a tendancy towards automatic negative thoughts.  Our words or thoughts can impact how we feel about ourselves and other people. What you think is what you project. 

Watch your thoughts, your thoughts become your words.
Watch your words your words become your actions,
Watch your actions your actions become your habits
Watch your habits, your habits become your character
Watch your character, your character becomes your destiny
 ~ proverb, author unknown.

In yoga we use a  "Sankalpa" in our practice or a positive statement or resolution made with conviction, usually an "I am" statement. Such as "I am worthy", "I am calm". You let your inner voice be your guide and allow it to help you take a step towards the person you are. Honour what is true to you and what you need in this moment.

So we must be mindful of our thoughts. In order for me to be the best version of me I honour myself, respect myself and love myself. By doing so I feel more abundant and more energised.

Feeling more abundant allows you to give more generously to others. Be compassionate to yourself first. Treat yourself with loving kindness, then watch it spread to those around you.

This image came into my horizon today and I just had to share.  I have to be honest, winter is not my favourite season, so I have to keep reminding myself to embrace the beautiful things about winter. Learning to dance in the rain. Of course, this is a metaphor for finding the inner strength to embrace all of the elements of your life and finding not only acceptance for the circumstances you are in but joy.  Being thankful for all of life's colours.
This reminds me of mountain pose, Tadasana. When we connect to that inner strength and resilience, just like a mountain, we can weather all seasons. Even if the storms, wind and rain create some instability on the surface, we remain who we are at our very core. Unmoved, stable, connected.  We are often challenged by our own emotions and thoughts that arise when are going through a rough time. Thinking of these emotions as passing bad weather and not getting caught up or attaching to them helps us to remember that "this too shall pass".

It is important to be mindful of the information we are bringing to our awareness on a daily basis.  We are constantly swamped by media, much of it negative, however there is a wealth of positive information out there. The type of information we allow into your lives affects our outlook and as such try to fuel up on positive, healthy information.
This is just one simple way that we can transform our lives.
Let me know if there are any sites or books that you have read that enrich your life by commenting below.