I’ve talked about Ahimsa a ton, but for some reason I keep revisiting the subject. Maybe it’s because it is the foundation to genuine yoga practice, and the first step in happiness, unconditional love, and letting go of suffering. Ahimsa translates to non-harm, which means to always live your life in each moment with the intention of showing compassion towards yourself or others. Without the practice of Ahimsa, you can’t fully practice yoga.

Even though this requires a practice of putting others before yourself, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go after your dreams or move forward on a decision because someone might get hurt. It just means to be considerate and loving, even when others may hurt you. It’s the intention and reaction that matters.

It’s normal to lose track of this because as humans we are competitive, and tend to never be satisfied. We want more and are rarely content with what we have. If you pay attention to it, it’s like an addiction. How long can you go without being busy? Do you create stress or drama without knowing it?

Some common things people do are: look for reasons to blame others for their own suffering, or judge others negatively to make oneself feel better. The truth is, our suffering is our own, and when we blame or judge others, that’s really a reflection of something within our own mindset that we need to change.

Karma is created within. We choose it.

On the other end of the spectrum, you can be harmful to yourself while creating your own blocks without knowing it.

How do you talk to yourself? Are you hard on yourself? Do you tell yourself you wish you had better or different qualities? By talking down to yourself so much, you’re enhancing those qualities within.

Here’s your 30 Day HAPPINESS journaling project:

1. Write in a journal every night for 30 days, and just let your thoughts and words roll. No need to focus on anything specific. Just write. Remember no one else is reading it, so just allow your thoughts, as silly as they may be, to transfer out of your mind and into your journal.

2. Go back and read your entries at the end of the week. Highlight every time you make a negative comment and judgement towards someone else. Then, highlight every time you make a negative comment or judgement towards yourself.

3. On another piece of paper, write a positive quality for each negative one. If you were judgmental towards someone else, write a positive characteristic about that person. If the negativity was towards you, write the opposite.

As you become used to looking for these self-judgements in your journaling, you’ll start to become more aware of them as they happen, and then break the habit slowly but surely.

At the end of 30 days evaluate how you’ve changed. You’ll see that you’re happier because you’ll start changing negative, difficult, or stressful situations into positive learning experiences, and you’ll have more compassion for others who are going through the same struggles.

I can guarantee you that you wouldn’t allow someone to treat you as bad as you treat yourself.

Tell yourself daily that YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Instead of “I suck at this”, say “I’m so freakin’ AMAZING and AWESOME at this!”

Eventually you’ll start to believe in yourself, but sometimes you gotta fake it ’till you make it!