Being true to yourself is not always easy. For fear of not being accepted, we tailor our personality, mince our words, and carve our opinions to fit in. It takes courage to be real … and it takes stamina because if you want the best out of life, it will demand the best of you time and time again.

When you choose to be real, there will likely be tough choices and eleventh hour changes. There will be misunderstandings, uncomfortable silences, and sometimes, there will be isolation.

When do you feel like giving up? What discourages you, or tempts you to doubt that sweetness is on the way? Now, write down three remedies for discouragement…lunch with your best friend; a visit to church; dusting off your diplomas, re-reading a love letter, swimming twenty laps; warm soup eaten in silence.

My three most regularly practiced remedies for discouragement:

1. Call Candis. She will say something so country-wise and lovely that I’ll either laugh or cry, and either is great.

2. Rose hip clay face masks, preferably Eminence. Sometimes exfoliating your face also takes the slough off yer spirit.

3. Review my body of work (go back to grade school stories if I have to,) and remember that I have an agent who’s waiting for me to deliver.

4. Bonus remedy: I read some Abraham Hicks. It’s the ultimate woo woo that is usually bang on my cosmic sensibilities. The basic message: you are exactly where you are supposed to be and all is well. Have fun.

Now practice just one of your remedies this week to keep your stamina strong.

A little preventive soul love is mighty strong. @DanielleLaPorte (Click to Tweet!)

Danielle LaPorte is the outspoken creator of The Desire Map, author of The Fire Starter Sessions (Random House/Crown), and co-creator of Your Big Beautiful Book Plan. An inspirational speaker, former think tank exec and business strategist, she writes weekly at DanielleLaPorte.com, where over a million visitors have gone for her straight-up advice — a site that’s been deemed “the best place on-line for kick-ass spirituality”, and was named one of the “Top 100 Websites for Women” by Forbes.

You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter @daniellelaporte.

Image courtesy of Namelas Frade.