If you’re dreading your work week ahead, here are some helpful ways to listen to your spirit and guide you through each day.

1. Begin your week in gratitude for it all. Go into gratitude overload the moment you wake up. Expressing gratitude is the quickest way to fast forward you into a good mood. I’ve written a lot on the topic of being appreciative about what you already have in your life, but it cannot be overstated. Many times we will begin a routine to think more positively by adding gratitude, and before the end of the day we’re complaining about something that didn’t go as we had planned. When you feel yourself turning into the complaint police, switch the gratitude light on immediately. The negative feelings will dissipate as quickly as they appeared.

2. There is absolutely no better way to raise your self-confidence than loving yourself as you are right now. In fact, it’s necessary in order to advance along your journey. When we are in the mode of nonacceptance, criticizing every move we make, degrading our appearance at every mirror we pass, we are disrespecting our spirit. Our souls came here to learn lessons of love, which include loving ourselves deeply. Learning to love yourself again allows you to love others more as well. Letting go of the conditions you set upon yourself will open up your heart, and free you to do what you are meant to do in this life. After all, love for yourself is what you were born with and will take with you when you leave.

3. One of the reasons we experience anxiety is because we are not living in the present moment. We are always worrying about the future or regretting the past, which makes it difficult to enjoy right now. The days of sitting on the front porch enjoying the sunshine and a glass of lemonade have been replaced with a fear filled society that places value on the newest gadgets which only make our relationships more and more impersonal. We work harder and longer than we ever have, only to acquire things to make our lives more enjoyable in the future, but we’re forgetting that the only time we have is now. Slow down. Breathe in the moment. Appreciate what’s in front of you right now. This is the way to make your soul smile.