My dream of becoming a psychotherapist was born reading this book.
 
At the time, I was a teenager living in Serbia, having no clue how non-linear my path towards that dream will be. More than a decade later, at 28 I went back to school to study psychology and continued towards master’s degree at 32.

You don’t need anyone’s permission or invitation to be who you were meant to be.
It's not anyone’s job to allow you to pursue something that was meant for you.

Your desire is your permission. 

Everything is more fun when you actively participate in it instead of just watching others participate and have all the fun: dancing, playing sports, eating, conversations, learning, and even social media. Social media is not bad - it’s completely neutral, yet some people feel drained and anxious when using it while others feel energized and inspired.

Say “yes” to opportunities that excite you, expand you, and ask you to step into a bigger role. Trust that if you weren't ready and capable, the opportunity wouldn't present itself. 

People often seek outside help wanting to get rid of unwanted feelings and various “symptoms.”
 
A lot of these “symptoms” are not so much problems to be patched up as they are invitations to see what needs to be attended to.

Every thought has the potential to create something powerful if we hold on to it long enough until we believe it. We suffer when we hold on to thoughts that make us feel like victims. Those thoughts are not any more true than thoughts that make us feel good.

​When you’re needy and desperate you don’t attract what you want, you attract what you’re afraid of.
 
When you’re desperate and needy you are scared. You’re scared you won’t get what you want or that you will lose something you have. You are in a state of lack. Abundance is not attracted to a state of lack.

Thinking about what everyone else is doing and believing they are having more fun is robbing you of enjoying your life and discovering what brings you joy!

​If you think long enough about a painful memory, you will feel as if you’re reliving it in the moment.
 
If you think long enough about an exciting future, you will feel as if it’s happening now.

​There are so many situation in which we had no choice as children. We simply lived by the rules we learned and adopted them as truths. As children, we didn’t have a choice but to be around people who kept hurting us, but as adult we do. Staying in situations and with people who are hurtful is an old rule we no longer need to live by.

​You may never grow and change in someone else’s mind. People may not want to give up the opinion they have of you. In their mind, you may always remain a one-dimensional character.

First, you have to recognize that worrying is not productive or helpful. No amount of worrying can solve a problem. Worrying is a state of mind that produces anxiety and (plot twist) leads to move anxiety, not solutions. 

​Instead of burdening yourself guessing what someone may be thinking of feeling, just ask them. This goes the other way around. Don’t expect someone to know what your internal experience is unless you’ve told them. We all rely on assumptions to some degree, but many times what we think others are thinking are just our thoughts. The only way to truly know is to ask.

Say “yes” to invitations that require you to be brave even if you don’t feel ready. 

We don't fully create our future on our own. We are co-creators. There’s a part of our life that’s out of our hands. The part we have no control over. But we can take the part that’s in our hands and do the best we can with it.

Examining the past can help clarify many of our problems, but healing doesn't occur in the past. It occurs in the present. There is practically a mania these days for blaming the events of our childhood for our current despair. What the ego doesn't want us to see is that our pain doesn't come from the love we weren't given in the past, but from the love we ourselves aren't giving in the present.

We often organize our lives in ways that drain our energy and kill our creativity and zest for life.

Negative thoughts are massive energy suckers. They recruit your creativity in service of overthinking, solving problems that don't exist, or attempting to control people and circumstances you have no control over.

Empowering self-talk has to be an intentional practice before it becomes a habit. If you commit to lifting yourself up daily, it will become your internal voice.
 
We become good at things we do (practice) each day.
 

Every thought that enters your mind is just as a suggestion.
 
Throughout the day you will receive thousands of thoughts (suggestions), but you don’t have to take each one seriously.