I used to cry myself to sleep every night. I walked around the cold city of Chicago feeling lifeless， numb and bored with life.

Today my life is quite different from that of the depressed girl， forever exhausted from her tears. Today I am happy， healthy and in love with life and with myself.

The changes in my life have been important， but the real change isnt about who I have become. I havent become anyone I wasnt before. I just made it a daily practice to remove the barriers that were keeping me from expressing my true self.

Many of us are depressed， or we go through moments of feeling stuck in life. The fastest way to remove depression and fear from our life is to access our true and unique self.

I started to reflect on the key differences between my life today and how it was then. What Ive seen is that it comes back to my habits and daily choices.

What I learned through those experiences is that life is too short to stay at war with ourselves， and the longer we make excuses and allow ourselves to stay stuck in our bad habits， the shorter our lives will become.

If you were to take a mental field trip and visit your future self， the one who is no longer struggling with the situation that is currently causing you the most stress， what advice would he or she give you？

I asked myself this same question， and in reflection of my own life， I cant help wondering whether， if Id asked these four questions several years ago， I would have been happier sooner？

以前我每天晚上都哭著睡覺。我在芝加哥這個(gè)寒冷的城市里走來(lái)走去，感覺自己毫無(wú)生氣、麻木并覺得人生無(wú)趣。

現(xiàn)在我的生活和那個(gè)郁悶女孩的生活有了很大的不同，不再因淚水而疲憊不堪?，F(xiàn)在我很開心、很健康、熱愛生活并喜歡自己。

我生活中的改變非常重要，但是真正的改變不是在于我變成了誰(shuí)。我還是原來(lái)的那個(gè)我。我只是每天加以練習(xí)，除去了那些我表達(dá)真實(shí)自我的障礙。

我們很多人都很郁悶，或經(jīng)歷過(guò)生活中很多束手無(wú)策的時(shí)刻。把抑郁和恐懼從我們生活中清除出去最快的方法就是找到真實(shí)而獨(dú)特的自我。

我開始反思現(xiàn)在生活和以前生活的主要區(qū)別。我發(fā)現(xiàn)區(qū)別在于我的習(xí)慣和每天的選擇。

通過(guò)那些經(jīng)驗(yàn)，我學(xué)到了生命太短了，根本無(wú)法一直和自己抗?fàn)?。我們找借口的時(shí)間越長(zhǎng)、允許自己停留在壞習(xí)慣中的時(shí)間越長(zhǎng)，我們的生命就會(huì)變得越短。

如果你經(jīng)歷一段精神之旅去看看未來(lái)的自我，那時(shí)的你不再和當(dāng)前給你造成最大壓力的情況做斗爭(zhēng)，他或她會(huì)給你什么樣的建議呢？

我問(wèn)了問(wèn)自己同樣的問(wèn)題，對(duì)自己的生活進(jìn)行反思后，我不禁去想，幾年前如果我問(wèn)自己這四個(gè)問(wèn)題，我是不是能更快地開心起來(lái)呢？

Are you giving more faith to your fears than your dreams？

你是不是更相信你的恐懼而不是你的夢(mèng)想？

Leaning into love is the fastest way to realise your dream. Believe in yourself and the power of your dreams. Recognize that fear is a manifestation of insecurity and worry. It does not need to control your actions. Instead lean into love.

愛是實(shí)現(xiàn)夢(mèng)想的最快方式。相信自己以及夢(mèng)想的能力。要意識(shí)到恐懼是不安全感和擔(dān)憂的體現(xiàn)。不需要控制你的行為。要學(xué)會(huì)去愛。

Are you listening to your body？

你有沒有傾聽你的身體？

Your body is the greatest tool for assessing your inner happiness and health. If you bulldoze over your feelings， you could miss the opportunity for grace and authentic happiness. You body will tell you when you are hungry or tired， and when it is time to relax or else get out and move and sweat. Learning to listen to your beautiful body and accept it for its uniqueness will help you feel more peace.

你的身體是衡量你內(nèi)心幸福和健康最主要的工具。如果你抑制自己的感情，你會(huì)錯(cuò)過(guò)優(yōu)雅和真正幸福的機(jī)會(huì)。你的身體會(huì)告訴你什么時(shí)候餓了或累了，什么時(shí)候該放松或出去運(yùn)動(dòng)一下。學(xué)會(huì)傾聽你美麗的身體并接受它的獨(dú)特性，會(huì)幫助你感受到更多的平和。

Are you your own best friend？

你是不是自己最好的朋友？

Listening to the advice of others and ignoring your own inner guidance can keep you feeling stuck in life. Learn to trust your heart and become your own best friend.

傾聽他人的建議而忽視自己內(nèi)心的引導(dǎo)會(huì)讓你感覺生活不如意。學(xué)著信任你的內(nèi)心，成為自己最好的朋友。

Are you enjoying the journey and releasing your expectations of the destination？

你是不是很享受這個(gè)旅程，并釋放出你對(duì)目的地的期望？

The magic is in this moment； let your goals drive you， but do not let them define you. The journey is where the fun is， so give yourself time to be present in this moment because this moment is all we will ever have.

神奇之處就在這一刻；讓你的目標(biāo)來(lái)驅(qū)動(dòng)你，但是不要讓它們?nèi)ザx你。旅程就是樂(lè)趣的所在，給自己時(shí)間來(lái)享受這一刻，因?yàn)橹挥性谶@一刻我們才擁有它。