The New You in 2022

BY Terry Pryor

Writer, Poet, Life Coach, and Student of the Mind

Note: This is the eighth month of action described in a series of motivational articles. Take some time each month to complete these action items, and you’ll see a “New You” emerge. Enjoy!

Power Action #8: It’s A Love Song, Baby!

As a teenager, I remember my mother saying, “You’d better change your tune, young lady!” I knew what she meant; she meant I was displeasing her in some way, and I had better get a new attitude—fast! Expressions like this are often handed down through generations. I would guess that my mother had heard it as a child from her parents.

I want to propose a very pleasant, and perhaps new, thought about how to “change your tune.” This practice helps tremendously in creating a loving and compassionate version of ourselves. It boosts our self-image and brings lightheartedness to our days.

Here’s what you do. Take the words of a love song like “A Groovy Kind of Love” by the Mindbenders, and wherever the word “you” is used in the song, substitute the word “me” in its place. Or use the Beatles song, “And I Love Her,” and replace “her” with “me.” I began this love song exercise after hearing about it at a motivational seminar many years ago. Ever since then, I giggle every time I sing a love song to me. It just feels so good! I love to sing love songs to myself. It’s also become a challenging game to find new love songs to substitute the “you” with “me.”

Why should you sing love songs to yourself? Well, first of all, why not? We absolutely must love ourselves. Until we do, how the heck can we expect anyone else to? Besides, we are magnificent in all our glory and individuality. We are wonderful beyond compare. One of my most favorite love songs to me is “You Are The Sunshine of My Life.” Wherever there’s a “you,” I replace it with “I,” and I cannot tell you how high I get wailing away this song on my morning walks.

This is not about ego or puffing up our image to others. It’s about a healthy relationship with that magnificent being that is you. That one-of-a-kind, made-to-perfection, can’t-get-enough-of-you, you. I can tell you this for certain, kids love this game. What a wonderful thing to teach them. It’s infectious. So, sing, baby! You will be surprised, and pleasantly so, at how your feelings about yourself change for the better. Find that perfect love song to sing to you, and sing it every day!

And the Winner Is YOU!

Here’s an amazing reason to sing your praises loud and clear. Let’s go back to the beginning—yours. You were a winner from the get-go. Think about this, an average ejaculation contains 40 to 150 million sperm, out of which only a few hundred will even come close to the egg. While it’s technically true that sperm can last for five days, most sperm will only last about two hours if they do not have fertile-quality conditions. Conceivably (pun intended), sperm will struggle to swim up to the uterus, use all their reserves, and not make it in time.

The egg typically lives only about 12 hours, so it cannot wait for long. Can you begin to see how extraordinarily miraculous you are? Right from the beginning, you were a winner, a gift of the most precious kind, representing the strongest swimmer, the most fertile egg, the one with the most health and vitality. Tenacity was your game. Isn’t it time for you to begin treating yourself with the highest and utmost respect? You are a magnificent miracle. You were no accident.

There is a tremendous power within you, and there is going to come a time—a precious, golden “Aha!” moment—when the knowledge of this power truly hits home. When it does (and I wish I could be there), I guarantee that you will never be the same. That epiphany, that knowing beyond all you’ve ever known, is when you begin taking responsibility for the outcome of your existence—in all areas.

This, my friend, whether you know it or not, is what you have been waiting for all of your life. This is the happiness that abides within you. This is why you are here, to create the life you desire with all the abundance, prosperity, joy, and delicious delight that you deserve. There are some who simply cannot handle this power. Those who feel the need to blame others for their misfortunes probably have not even read this far, so I know I am now talking only to those of you who are ready for this knowledge. I am talking to the magnificent you—the you who plants seeds of positive thought, then waters and nurtures those seeds until they bloom in splendid glory.

There is no block to your happiness, except in your own thoughts. That goes for memories, too. Each time we recall an incident, we give it power. For some, recalling their entire lives and how many things have made them unhappy is what they are consistently thinking about. Remember, your subconscious gives back to you what you plant. Choose to plant happiness. Choose to plant health. Choose to plant wealth. Choose to move beyond where you are now!

Keep the Faith, Baby!

In The Principles of Psychology by William James, published in 1890, he devotes his longest chapter, “The Consciousness of Self,” to Faith. He felt that the greatest discovery of the 19th century was the power of the subconscious mind touched by Faith. Faith is an absolute and necessary component to the process of seeing the outcome and living as if it were already your reality. Faith is that deepest of all knowing—you know because you know. No one, no thing, no experience can move you from your rock of Faith once you have acquired it. It is the most powerful of all the tools to success in any area of your life.

The Grand Slam in tennis, the four most prestigious tournaments in a year: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. Winning all four in a calendar year is called the Grand Slam. Until Faith becomes a Grand Slam, know you may have a tennis match going on in your head until you get comfortable with this new habit. At first, it’s going to seem as if you are trying to fool yourself. Those thoughts are the monkeys of doubt coming in to distract you. Tell them to move on.