The ideas in this post were originally featured on the personal development site PurposeFairy. Wayne Dryer was a remarkable teacher of life lessons that I’ve used to improve my daily life, and each of these serve as a reminder of ways that we can all live fuller and happier lives.
“We are not our bodies, our possessions, or our career. Who we are is Divine Love and that is Infinite.” Dr. Wayne W. Dyer (1940-2015)
1. Cooperation is healthier than competition.
Work on improving yourself and be so busy doing so that you don’t have time to compare and compete with others. We are all in this together, and this sense of separation will only weaken us and keep us from achieving our goals. Having a sense of community -be it in your workplace or in your personal relationships, will not only build strength in yourself, but help others respond to you in a more positive manner, thereby lifting you higher in all that you’re trying to accomplish.
“If you’re always in a hurry, always trying to get ahead of the other guy, or someone else’s performance is what motivates you, then that person is in control of you.” ~ Wayne Dyer
2. Ignorance is not bliss.
Allow yourself to expand your mind a little more day by day. Give up labels that you’ve forced onto yourself about the way that you should be or the kind of things that you should be doing. If you constantly say NO to “strange” ideas, things, events, people, how can you expect to progress through life? Try new things, if it makes your life better, stick to it and if it doesn’t, let it go. It’s that simple.
“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” ~ Wayne Dyer
3. You are not a victim of the world.
When you affirm things like, I’m not successful because of (insert reason), this situation is upsetting me, I can’t believe you are treating me this way, etc., you start playing the victim game. Take responsibility for your own thoughts, your own feelings and actions, and by doing so you will no longer give your power away to forces outside yourself. When something negative comes your way, you will pause, and instead of reacting, you will RESPOND, to everything and everyone. Learning to respond productively and not be reactive when your buttons are pushed or when you’re feeling fearful is not an easy task, but if mastered, can truly change your life and relationships.
“How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” ~ Wayne Dyer
4. You find yourself in solitude.
If you’re someone who always needs to have plans and be around people, it’s time to do some introspection. I was one of these people, and decided to take a 6 week trip alone that truly taught me the value of solitude and depending on no one else for your happiness but you. I can’t stress enough the value of feeling comfortable being alone and taking time to sit with your feelings and being ok with what you find. You don’t need to take a drastic trip like mine, but force yourself to spend some time alone and comfort yourself instead of using others to do the job – it’s powerful stuff.
“You cannot be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with.” ~ Wayne Dyer
5. Rejection makes you stronger.
If you trust and listen to your own heart and intuition, you will always know where to go and what to do with your life. Every rejection you face is an opportunity to grow, to learn and to start again with this new amazing knowledge and sense of self. Every rejection I’ve faced was because I had something better waiting for me. It’s a difficult lesson to learn, but sometimes you need to trust in the universe a bit and be comforted by the idea that everything will happen when you’re ready for it and in the right time – even if you think that time should be right freaking now.
“Be grateful to all those people who told you no. It’s because of them that you managed to do it all yourself.” ~Wayne Dyer
6. Self worth cannot be verified by others.
If you constantly seek outside yourself for approval and validation, you will never be happy. We will never be able to control the way that others view us, no matter how hard we try – so stop trying to please everyone around you and start pleasing yourself. Pay attention to what makes you happy – are you buying things or investing time into things that add no true value to your life because you think it will make others more accepting of you? Ultimately if you yourself are not happy with who you are or value yourself, chances are others will not be able to see the value in you either.
“Self-worth cannot be verified by others. You are worthy because you say it is so. If you depend on others for your value it is other-worth.” ~ Wayne Dyer
7. You don’t attract what you want in your life, you attract what you are.
People like to reference the Law of Attraction and believe that if they focus long enough on something they want, the universe will just serve it up – but that’s not how things work. Only when you work on yourself and become the best version of yourself will you attract the things that you truly want. If you want a promotion, you need to become the best at what you do. If you want a great partner, you need to become the kind of person that you want to attract. You won’t be chasing things, because you’ll be such a force that these things will chase you. On the other hand, if your mind and heart is full of negativity, negativity in all forms will show up in your life.
”If you’re obsessed with defeating the other guy and winning at all costs, then you’re guaranteed to attract the vibrational equivalent of this thinking into your life- even if you do yoga and stand on your head chanting mantras everyday.” ~ Wayne Dyer
8. There are no limits to what you can achieve – you are a no-limit person.
You’ve heard it time and time again… get out of your own way. Or, the only thing standing in the way is yourself. Break the habit of creating all of the reasons why things shouldn’t work out or why you’re not deserving or capable. Create the habit of asking yourself, why not me? Why NOT you be the one to get that great job, to attract your soulmate, to live this beautiful life? You have all the abilities you need when you have the belief that you’re deserving and capable.
“When you argue for your limitations, all you get are your limitations.” ~ Wayne Dyer
9. No need to stress over everything.
If you open up your mind to believe in a higher power, you can be comforted by the idea that we don’t need to take on all of the things in our lives that we stress about but cannot control. If you can trust in “god” or “the universe”, you can allow events to take their natural course and just go with the FLOW. Realize that worrying about something only contributes to it’s power over you. There is something much bigger than you helping to guide you in the right direction. Isn’t that a reassuring thought?
“Good morning, this is God. I will be handling all of your problems today. I will not need your help. So have a miraculous day.” ~ Wayne Dyer
10. Follow your heart and you will be successful.
This is such a powerful truth that only a few of us get to live and discover. When you get your life on purpose, when you focus on giving the best of yourself to the world, abundance will flow freely into your life and you will discover happiness you never thought could be yours.
“Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.” ~ Wayne Dyer
Do you have any other good Dyer-isms or personal development mentors who you love? Share!
