WELCOME TO DAY 15

EVOLVE

The definition of 'Evolve' is to develop gradually. Evolving means committing yourself to growth in all areas of your life - Mind, Body, Spirit, Lifestyle, Relationships, Career, etc. If you are evolving, you are shedding layers and in the process becoming the you that you were always meant to be. People that evolve - in my eyes - are brilliant, intelligent, bewildering in a beautiful way and brave. Improvement is vital to evolving and ultimately succeeding.

EVOLVE FORMULA

ACTION

You must realize that without taking action, your going to be left exactly where you are - and where you are is not where you want to be. It sounds simple, doesn't it? It is. In order to evolve, you have to take that leap - irregardless how uncomfortable it is.

BE AUTHENTIC

How many times have we been told to 'be authentic'? Being your TRUE self is so worth it. Disappointing others in the process is 'ok'. I can tell you from experience that the people who are meant to be in my life are thrilled about me being true to myself. People show their true colors when you are faithful to yourself. When you are true to yourself, you not only evolve, you rise up to challenges that seem to melt away.

PERSISTENCE

Try, try and try again. You are new to yoga class and cannot hold that downward dog pose? Try again. You want to master the ocean waves on your surfboard? Try again. You want this particular relationship you are in to work? Try again. You want your marriage to flourish? Try harder. You are getting the idea. When you persist, you evolve. You are in a constant state of growth and in the commitment of evolving, you find respect, love and trust.

STAY IN THE MOMENT

You cannot grow from this particular experience (whatever yours is) if you are not paying attention to 'where you are right now'. In order to take that first step, you must pay attention to where you are standing. This moment is all we have - cherish it. Cherish yourself. You are now committed to evolving in whatever area you choose and in order to do so, you need to begin right here - right now. Be kind and gentle with yourself. Let the process begin.

FORGIVENESS

In order to shed old layers, forgiveness is required. Forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others. In order to evolve in a relationship, you must truly forgive and move forward in awe, love, hope and positivity. Forgive, let go and honey, you are evolving already.

CONSCIOUSNESS

Much of the research that indicates the capacity to self-evolve links with a growing perspective among scientists that, as Deepak Chopra has written, "Consciousness is destiny. Instead of being dictated to by your genes and chemical processes in the brain, it may turn out that you are the author of your own life - capable of change, healing, creativity and personal transformation." Actually, everything in existence is experienced through our consciousness.

NEW CHALLENGES

When you challenge yourself to stretch towards a higher level of your abilities, you also increase your overall well-being. Interestingly, research demonstrates the power of having a vision of what you want to stretch your capacities and abilities towards. Holding a vision of possibility in your consciousness tends to pulls you towards it. Research shows that your actions that follow lead to noticeably increased happiness with your life. Other studies indicate that people who consciously build positive emotions, such as empathy and compassion, also increase their resilience in the face of new challenges. There's apparently some truth to the old adage, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

BEHAVE 'OUTSIDE THE BOX'

There's evidence that you can evolve by choosing to behave in ways that are different from - even counter to - what you think of as your usual or "fixed" personality traits and characteristics. That is, you can evolve by acting more like the person you want to be. This isn't faking; it's pushing yourself outside the box of your usual "self," and bringing your behavior into alignment with a picture of what those new features would look like if you demonstrate them.

5 STEPS TO EVOLUTION

Given what we know so far, we probably have enormous potential to self-direct how we evolve new personality traits, mental capacities, emotions, and positive engagement as a citizen of the planet. Here are five steps for doing so:

• Begin by listing some specific qualities or capacities that you believe are underdeveloped, dormant or even nonexistent; but ones you want to grow and become visible.

• For each one, envision what it would look like if you did embody that quality in your daily life. Use examples for each, as much as possible. It can help to imaging seeing your evolved self as though a character in a movie.

• Describe the totality of that broadened, expanded picture of your evolved self in a few sentences or paragraph.

• Then, envision a tether is attached at one end to those qualities you want to evolve, above; the other end attached to yourself, below. Picture the tether pulling you steadily upwards towards those evolved qualities.

• Finally, list what you can do each day that strengthens and practices those qualities you're evolving towards, as the tether pulls you towards them; like you're strengthening a muscle through exercises.