Treasure Yourself (13 page)

energy. It’s the same with water and also with our bodies. This study on water made such an impact on me

because it is a fact that approximately 70 per cent of the average person is made up of water! Our thoughts

and words can have a profound affect on our bodies too.

Affirmations… Feeding my mind with positive thoughts is just as important to me as feeding my body

with fresh organic food and nutrients. I have my affirmations by the bedside so that as soon as I wake up I

can randomly select some to read. Sometimes just one will help me set the mood for the entire day. I

decide to really ‘be’ the affirmation and really live that thought for the day. By making affirmations a part

of my everyday life I feel more centred and inspired.

If ever I am feeling off balance these positive statements remind me of the truth. I have them written

down everywhere, whether in my diary or on little pieces of paper, and will read over them every chance

I get. There is a list of affirmations on the back of my front door so that I can read them before leaving the

house. I feel as though this prepares me mentally and emotionally for the day ahead. In my room, a

beautiful wooden chest contains my written dreams and goals as well as pictures of places I would like to

visit and treasures I would love to have in my life.

Having a positive attitude gives me the energy to keep up with my schedule and give the best of myself

to whatever I have to do. Most important of all, a positive attitude allows me to be confident, feel uplifted

and also to make the most of every situation I am confronted with. Being positive gives you choices and

power in your decisions and direction in life. When I choose to look at things with a positive perspective

I tend to be more willing to act when something occurs as opposed to feeling helpless and out of control.

Louise L. Hay puts words together beautifully and when reading her books and affirmation cards her

love and warmth comes through. Her book You Can Heal Your Life made me realise just how powerful

thoughts can be and that no matter how healthy your diet and lifestyle is, if there is negativity, you not only

create disease in your mind and body, you also invite more negativity into your life. What you put out you

get back. Whenever I catch myself in negative self-talk, or jumping to conclusions and assumptions about

things, I remind myself that in the end I have the choice in the thoughts I want to listen to.

Don’t worry… be happy! It is easy to get caught up in worrying about what’s going on in your life and the

thoughts and opinions of others. In my industry it’s especially easy to get sucked into worrying about the

way you look on a shoot, what you said in that interview and even if that decision you made was the right

one. I can find myself worrying so much about some of these things that I forget to really enjoy the moment

and have fun. If I find that I simply can’t turn my mind from stressing about a particular thing, I just tackle

the problem head on and change my thinking. I find it helpful to ask myself the following questions:

1. Are there any reasons for me to worry? In this way I can determine if my view is realistic and

balanced.

2. Is there another reason for why I’m getting stressed?

3 . What is the worst that could happen? If you know that you can still survive after this then

everything else becomes easier to handle. I then think about the best possible scenario and then the

most realistic one.

4. How would I feel if I stopped worrying? This helps to bring me back to the present and reminds

me that I have the choice to feel better.

Let your light shine… There was a time when I seriously considered giving up my career. I was feeling

down and it felt as though nothing was going right. I had just returned from working in Paris, which had

not been as successful as I hoped, and I began to doubt my abilities. Just when I was about to walk away

from everything, the words my mum always said at the end of each phone conversation, ‘Let your little

light shine’, came to mind. It was then I realised I was the one turning off my light with so many low-

energy thoughts.

When I find myself feeling low I think about shining a light. It reminds me that the most important thing

in these times is to stay true to who you are. Trying to convince others you’re beautiful, desirable and

confident won’t work unless it comes from an inside knowingness. When you turn on your inner light and

let it glow, it’s like switching on a light in the darkness. You effortlessly begin to attract all sorts of

interesting creatures.

Convince yourself, not others, that you’re warm and bright. Be warm and bright and everyone will be

attracted to you. You don’t have to say a word to convince them, the attraction will be irresistible because

of your positive, bright outlook about yourself and the world. That night in Paris I made a commitment to

transform my thinking and keep my inner light shining. I truly believe it is why I have been able to achieve

what I have today. In changing the way I was thinking, I transformed the way I felt and also what I thought

of my abilities and myself. I therefore altered my reality and started making choices to surround myself

with positivity in every shape and form. As I began to value myself more I noticed a remarkable shift for

the better in my life.

One of the most dramatic ways you can transform any given situation is to rethink your attitude. Mum to

this day still says, ‘Let your little light shine’, and her saying that always make me feel better and

empowers me to look at and appreciate all the positives in my life. Attitude really is everything.

Finding your power… The rest of this book contains power thoughts to motivate and encourage you to

live an abundant and confident life. They are from some of the people who have been an inspiration to me,

such as Louise L. Hay, Deepak Chopra and Wayne W. Dyer, to name a few. I’ve added my own

affirmations to every power thought to make them more relevant for you. Whatever mood or situation you

find yourself in, there will be at least one power thought that can help you move towards a more positive

frame of mind. You can use this book in many ways – here are some of my suggestions for how to make

the most of them:

1. Find the power thought to bring about change and give you the positive feeling you desire.

2. Hold the book in your hands and then let your intuition guide you to open up to the page you are

meant to read. This will be the power thought that will bring positive energy to your situation.

3 . Flip through the book and find the power thought that you want to use for the moment. For

example, if you want to feel more confident right now then ‘I release all fears and doubts’ would

work for you.

4 . Use a power thought to change your life while sleeping. Simply read the power thought a few

times in your head before bedtime, and then repeat the thought over and over again until you fall

asleep.

To really get the most out of these power thoughts, repetition is the key. Think of them as an internal

exercise program to build your strength so you can face any challenge that comes your way. Louise L. Hay

once told me that whenever someone has a limiting thought they can turn it around with an affirmation.

These power thoughts are like planting a seed. If you were going to plant your heart, what would grow?

The positive thought or desire may not necessarily be true right then but it is something that you would

like to be true. Finding the courage to plant the seed creates miracles. You may not see all the benefits on

the first day but as you use them consistently the inner you will get into shape.

dream your way to success…

I love my sleep and my dreams, so one of my favourite ways to use power thoughts is while I’m asleep.

Dreams can be used to solve problems, just think of the phrase ‘I’ll sleep on it’! Each of us dreams in our

own unique way. By using power thoughts you can program your dreams so that when you wake up you’ll

already be in a more positive frame of mind and able to greet the day with a smile.

Dreams are such an important part of my life and over the years I have kept journals, written my dreams

down and shared them with my friends and family. Decoding them can also be a lot of fun and very

insightful. Dreams help us become more balanced and when we wake up we often forget what we were

dreaming and we are just left with an emotion. My friend Leon Nacson, a renowned Dream Coach,