Vironika Tugaleva Quotes & Sayings

To spend your time trying to make your body flawless is to waste your time. Even if it appears to match some externalized ideals of perfection for a moment, your physical self will wrinkle and age. Work on your mind. Work on your legacy. — Vironika Tugaleva

Watch your thoughts, for they will become the words of people you draw to yourself. — Vironika Tugaleva

It's not enough to wish, dream, hope. Even children know this. We must set sail into the sea of uncertainty. We must meet fear face-to-face. We must take our dreams as maps for a greater journey. Dreams, to come true, need a good story. So go live one. — Vironika Tugaleva

Sometimes, breaking down is the bravest thing you can do. — Vironika Tugaleva

A leaf does not resist the breeze. A goose does not resist the urge to fly down south. Is this not happiness? Is this not freedom? To access this incredible state, we need only one thing: Trust. Trust that, when you are not holding yourself together so tightly, you will not fall apart. Trust that it is more important to fulfill your authentic desires than listen to your fears. Trust that your intuition is leading you somewhere. Trust that the flow of life contains you, is bigger than you, and will take care of you - if you let it. — Vironika Tugaleva

Some journeys, we must take alone. The caterpillar does not judge itself for craving the cocoon. Do not fear the isolated path. There, you will not be lonely. You will meet yourself. — Vironika Tugaleva

Who will you love if not yourself? Other people? How can you love someone for anything but their raw, naked humanity? How can you say you love someone if it is not for their flaws and quirks, snorts and hurts, triggers and tears? Anything else is not love. It is idealization. And, as long as you do it to yourself, you will do it to everyone. You will not love anyone or anything until those eyes in the mirror soften up and embrace the beauty that is already within. — Vironika Tugaleva

Life is a conversation with yourself. And who are you if not the eternal presence behind everything that is, was, and will be? Like this, the blow of each breeze and the beauty of each sunset can teach you about yourself, if you listen. If you hear. — Vironika Tugaleva

Beautiful isn't something you become. It's something you realize you are. — Vironika Tugaleva

Emotions are not problems to be solved. They are signals to be interpreted. — Vironika Tugaleva

An act of love is not an act for you and not for me. It is an act for you as well as for me. Love is for us. — Vironika Tugaleva

If I say, "I am weak," I ensure that I stay weak. If I say, "I cannot," "I'm not the type to," "I am not able," then I set up a self-fulfilling prophecy. As I think of myself, so I shall be. — Vironika Tugaleva

It is only by seeing beauty in everything that we can see it in any one single thing, day after day. Don't run into the arms of obsession, for that quickly fades. Long lasting love comes from an open, loving heart. — Vironika Tugaleva

Of course, being open and vulnerable will lead us to, sometimes, experience pain. But what is pain? It is simply a feeling. It is not forever. If you get pain from some person or thing too many times, you can always walk away. To risk a lifetime without pleasure simply to avoid pain is ludicrous. — Vironika Tugaleva

People will react to you as a result of their own mindset, rather than as a reflection of your worth. Most people use others as mirrors for their own darkness. If you have been hurt by such people, perhaps you can use these experiences to become a different kind of person - one who reflects the light within others instead of using them as mirrors. Maybe your experiences of pain can lead you to being a great leader, someone who lights up the world. Your most painful struggle is ripe with opportunity. — Vironika Tugaleva

In the world of so-called villains, what we need is not another hero. What we need is to stop the influx of people who dress themselves as menaces and proceed to harm others. — Vironika Tugaleva

Those who doubt themselves will doubt you. Those who limit themselves will try to limit you. Do not fight them. Smile, go your own way, and trust that your example is enough. — Vironika Tugaleva

Though your acts of love and compassion cannot penetrate bandages or armour, they are never wasted and never lost. They sit within the recipient's mind, awaiting his awakening. — Vironika Tugaleva

When we are in constant pain, we cannot empathize with others, nor can we help them. It is only when we allow ourselves to open up to our own nourishment that we are free to feed the rest of the world. And thus, to attend to one's own suffering is the most selfless act. — Vironika Tugaleva

You are eternal, beautiful, and real. — Vironika Tugaleva

You are nature. You are already perfect, peaceful, and powerful. You don't need to become anything. You simply need to remember yourself. — Vironika Tugaleva

A happy person is not without sorrow or grief. Happiness is the acceptance of pain, not the lack of it. — Vironika Tugaleva

You do not need any more strength. You only need to realize how strong you already are. — Vironika Tugaleva

Love, happiness, peace - these are not final destinations. They are in every moment, every breath, everything. — Vironika Tugaleva

We are like puzzle pieces who are perfectly suited to make a giant picture together, but we are assembling ourselves in the dark. — Vironika Tugaleva

The most dangerous way we sabotage ourselves is by waiting for the perfect moment to begin. Nothing works perfectly the first time, or the first fifty times. Everything has a learning curve. The beginning is just that - a beginning. Surrender your desire to do it flawlessly on the first try. It's not possible. Learn to learn. Learn to fail. Learn to learn from failing. And begin today. Begin now. Stop waiting. — Vironika Tugaleva

Just like your body naturally responds positively to some foods, your mind naturally responds positively to some thoughts. — Vironika Tugaleva

Most people spend their lives doing one of two things to their emotions: numbing or venting. Self-loving people do something very different - they accept each emotion as a piece of communication and they try to decode it. This way, emotions can become important guideposts on the journey of self-discovery, rather than annoying roadblocks. — Vironika Tugaleva

In your heart, you have a song that will change the world, once you give yourself permission to sing. — Vironika Tugaleva

Most of your healing journey will be about unlearning the patterns of self-protection that once kept you safe. — Vironika Tugaleva

Sometimes love doesn't look like what we think it should look like. Sometimes it's paradoxical. Sometimes we have to step outside our comfort zone. Sometimes we have to be more honest than we thought we'd ever have to be or more supportive than we are taught is appropriate. When we traverse those boundaries, that's when we really understand what this whole love thing is all about. We become more than just human. We become part of the giant, beautiful ever-changing reality of life. By loving without limits, we become wise, strong, and beautiful. We become more of what we already are. — Vironika Tugaleva

The desire to be loved, to feel loved, is behind every diet, pill, surgery, and lie. It is behind each act of violence and every affair as well as each organized religion and every method of self-help. — Vironika Tugaleva

Within, you hold a tiny piece of eternity, a fraction of life, a mirror of the universe. — Vironika Tugaleva

At the end of the day, we all crawl, exhausted, to some doorstep. Some crawl to the doorstep of their new home, the one they have sought for miles without giving up their goal, exhausted by their determination. And others crawl to the doorstep of their prison, the one they have sought to escape, but gave up, exhausted by their determination. And we all enter our new home with a sigh of relief and put our feet up. Some rejoice. Others grow bitter. And yet, we are tired just the same. — Vironika Tugaleva

The self-judging person will always judge others. The rubric we develop for ourselves, the measuring stick we put against our own mind and body, generalizes to every other human being. — Vironika Tugaleva

Every time I watch a person awaken to their inner strength, I see what we're made of, and we're magnificent. We're brilliant. We really are. We crave magic because we are magic. We crave power because we are pure power. — Vironika Tugaleva

Looking with eyes of love is about not only looking, but seeing. — Vironika Tugaleva

The important thing is for me to feel love towards my fellow human beings - and sometimes, that has to be at a distance. — Vironika Tugaleva

The most profound personal growth does not happen while reading a book or meditating. It happens in the throes of conflict, when you are angry, afraid, frustrated. It happens when you are doing the same old thing and you suddenly realize that you have a choice. — Vironika Tugaleva

I am happy not because I am without pain, but because I know I am not that pain. — Vironika Tugaleva

Sometimes "No" is the kindest word. — Vironika Tugaleva

To persevere is one thing, but to push on ignoring your intuition is something quite different. Self-awareness is the practice of learning the difference. — Vironika Tugaleva

A healer is someone who seeks to be the light that she wishes she had in her darkest moments. — Vironika Tugaleva

I could not see beauty until I held hands with chaos in silence. — Vironika Tugaleva

Most things that are true are simple. To lose weight, eat less than you burn. To reduce stress, find a job you love. To resolve conflict, be patient and peaceful. These are very, very simple in that they are complete concepts that take no more than a sentence to say. They are not, however, easy, because they must be applied consistently. — Vironika Tugaleva

Perhaps the most liberating moment in my life was when I realized that my self-loathing was not a product of my inadequacy but, rather, a product of my thoughts. — Vironika Tugaleva

Leave your hair natural. Let your beard grow out. Leave the makeup in the bag. Wear comfortable clothes. Stop worrying so much about your looks and start looking around you. You have missed so much beauty trying to become beautiful. You have missed your own worth trying to become worthy. Let the mask break open. Let it lie on the floor. Let yourself be seen. Let yourself see. — Vironika Tugaleva

Happiness isn't about pretending there's no pain. It's about accepting the pain as a part of healing and doing your best to nurse your own wounds with love and patience. — Vironika Tugaleva

No loss is without opportunity. No failure is without valuable lessons. Plunge in. It will, at worst, be a valuable experience. — Vironika Tugaleva

You'll never know who you are unless you shed who you pretend to be. — Vironika Tugaleva

The less people know, the more they talk. The less people understand, the more they try to explain. — Vironika Tugaleva

Peace is not the absence of pain, but the welcoming of pain as a teacher. — Vironika Tugaleva

A butterfly does not wonder how it can stop being a caterpillar. It simply feels some feeling from within that tells it: isolate yourself in this cocoon and grow within it. It trusts that feeling. When it comes out, it is radiant and beautiful. All the little bug did was follow its nature. You are no different. — Vironika Tugaleva

To extend compassion to a so-called villain, to forgive those who have wronged you, and to find common ground with someone who has been awfully isolated are not acts typically met with fireworks and swelling violins. More often than not, they are pushed away. To love, really love, is to do them anyway. — Vironika Tugaleva

Love me only for my actions, and I will grow stressed.
Love me only for my body, and I will grow paranoid.
Love me only for my words, and I will grow bitter.
Love me only for my soul, and I will grow. — Vironika Tugaleva

When you begin to walk your own journey, to have your own unique conversation, you will naturally stop feeling envious of others. Not because you'll realize your desires are different from theirs, but because they are so similar. You'll discover the difference between doing well and pretending to do well, between being happy and pretending to be happy, between healthy relationships and staged ones. You'll see just how many obstacles lie on any path. You'll realize that it takes the same amount of effort to work on building up the quality of the conversations in your life as it does to broadcast to the public, constantly, that those conversations are already perfect. You can either build up the mask or build up the authentic self. And you, brave and beautiful you, will make the right choice eventually. Be it now or on your deathbed. We all realize soon enough. — Vironika Tugaleva

The greatest tool of self-love is self-awareness. Once you truly know yourself, love is the only option. — Vironika Tugaleva

We sacrifice our potential because we do not know that we are pure potential. — Vironika Tugaleva

To love everyone unconditionally does not mean to give everyone your unconditional time. Sometimes, to love completely, we must never see someone again. This, too, is love. This is giving someone the freedom to exist and be happy, even if it must be without you. — Vironika Tugaleva

The closer you come to your authentic self, the simpler everything becomes. Listen to your intuition. It will tell you who you are. — Vironika Tugaleva

Once you understand love, you don't need a reward your kindness or compassion just like you don't need a reward for breathing. — Vironika Tugaleva

This is what a real teacher does: she opens the gates of our minds to the possibilities of the soul. — Vironika Tugaleva

Who was I fooling, telling my heart to quiet its beautiful song so I could march in the parade of conformity? My biggest fool was me. — Vironika Tugaleva

Fear is just a misunderstanding of your immortality. — Vironika Tugaleva

Be what you are. Do what you love. Speak what you feel. Don't hide
your humanity. Celebrate it. Embrace it.
That is how you change the world. — Vironika Tugaleva

Everything you want lies on the other side of learning to trust yourself. Take a chance. Have faith. You already know who you are, what you want, and where you want to go. — Vironika Tugaleva

Temporary, but excruciating, pain is the price of healing. — Vironika Tugaleva

Worth is not something you can buy for $39.99, nor something you can lose with 10 extra pounds. Self-judging people make good consumers. Start a revolution. Love yourself. — Vironika Tugaleva

There is a difference between working hard to create a life that truly serves you
and working hard to create a life that you've been told you should want. — Vironika Tugaleva

The most effective and permanent way to silence fears is to face them. — Vironika Tugaleva

A healthy mind observes and questions itself. This is the path to inner peace and happiness. Don't believe everything you think. — Vironika Tugaleva

The child will leave the nest. The best paint job will crack. The best play will become boring. The best work will grow tedious. The best art will lose meaning. The greatest creation will decay. Behind all this, lies my true self. — Vironika Tugaleva

The transformed person is a revolutionary only because he has revolutionized himself. He gives the people inspiration by holding up a mirror to their inner substance. — Vironika Tugaleva

It will take as long as it takes. Your work is to take the time and make the space. Everything else is beyond your influence. — Vironika Tugaleva

Our work is not to become unique. We are unique. Our work is to unleash our sense of adventure and to allow the inner whisper that says "come hither" to be reason enough to go. — Vironika Tugaleva

Being happy where you are does not mean that you must unquestioningly accept parts of your environment that don't serve you. Where you are is inside of this amazing body, this beautiful moment, this capable mind. Where you are is inside of an eternal opportunity. And sometimes you need to change your environment to remember that. — Vironika Tugaleva

Letting go of who you're supposed to be and discovering who you really are is a journey of many experiences, but certainty is not one of them. No matter how long you wait, it'll never feel safe enough. Plunge in anyway. — Vironika Tugaleva

You matter. You're not broken. You're stronger than you think. — Vironika Tugaleva

If you do not let yourself be seen, you cannot see. — Vironika Tugaleva

We throw away real people searching for the "perfect" person the same way that we throw ourselves away searching for our "perfect" self. — Vironika Tugaleva

These times are hard, but I won't walk away jaded, darker, different. I feel. I cry to heal. If you saw me in those moments, maybe you'd think I was a mess. But I don't call it a mess. I call it strength.

Real strength isn't about building walls. Real strength is about staying open, no matter what. It's about taking life - with all the pleasures that fade and all the pain that sticks around for too long - and not shutting down, not closing down, not building up those walls.

Resilience isn't hard, impenetrable, iron. Resilience is flexible, soft, warm.

Stay strong. The real kind of strong. Don't let your automatic mind reflexes make you jump away from pain and towards pleasure. Make choices. See clearly. And never, ever, stop feeling.

Don't go numb. The world, even with all its horror, is too beautiful to miss. — Vironika Tugaleva

They say, "Look before you leap." So look. But do not look for too long. Do not look into the void of uncertainty trying to predict each and every possible outcome, to evaluate every possible mistake, to prevent each possible failure. Look for the opportunity to leap, and leap faster than your fear can grab you. Leap before you talk yourself out of it, before you convince yourself to set up a temporary camp that turns into a permanent delay on your journey into your own heart. — Vironika Tugaleva

Before label yourself and before you decide that there is something irreparably wrong with your thoughts or emotions, ask yourself: "Do I have a caring, unconditionally loving best friend in myself?" If the answer is "No," then you will not find the solution to your suffering until you address this serious, life-threatening absence of self-compassion. Self-love is not a dinner mint. Self-love matters. Self-love saves lives. — Vironika Tugaleva

You are not who you think you are. You are not your fears, your thoughts, or your body. You are not your insecurities, your career, or your memories. You're not what you're criticized for and you're not what you're praised for. You are a boundless wealth of potential. You are everything that's ever been. Don't sell yourself short. Every sunset, every mountain, every river, every passionate crowd, every concert, every drop of rain - that's you. So go find yourself. Go find your strength, find your beauty, find your purpose. Stop crafting your mask. Stop hiding. Stop lying to yourself and letting people lie to you. You're not lacking in anything except awareness. Everything you've ever wanted is already there, awaiting your attention, awaiting your time. — Vironika Tugaleva

Love is more abundant than we could possibly imagine. Just like there is more air than we could possibly breathe in, there is more love than we could possibly perceive. — Vironika Tugaleva

We feel good when we hear about how powerful we are because we are pure power. — Vironika Tugaleva

There is a difference between judgment and feedback. Your critics use you as a mirror for their own hidden darkness. Your teachers hold up a mirror to yours. — Vironika Tugaleva

Do not settle for labels that presume you will never heal. Believe in yourself. Find a tribe who understands and believes in you too. Don't ever give up. — Vironika Tugaleva

Emotional pain cannot kill you, but running from it can. Allow. Embrace. Let yourself feel. Let yourself heal. — Vironika Tugaleva

Everything changes. The leaves, the weather, the colour of your hair, the texture of your skin. The feelings you have today - whether they kill you or enthrall you - won't be the same tomorrow, so let go. Celebrate. Enjoy. Nothing lasts, except your decision to celebrate everything, everyone, for the beauty that is there within each moment, each smile, each impermanent flicker of infinity. — Vironika Tugaleva

When you see a person acting violently, ask yourself whether he knows how powerful he is. If he knew his power, would he feel the need to assert it? — Vironika Tugaleva

To help people, love them. Then, they help themselves. — Vironika Tugaleva

When your own approval means more than the approval of others, that is self-love. — Vironika Tugaleva

When you love people, you are curious about who they are, what they think, and how they feel. You watch them closely, wondering about their experience and what you can do to make it more enjoyable. You feel compassion for their pain and seek to make it more bearable. You are eager to learn the unique language of their existence. You want to under-stand them, inspire them, heal them. What if you could look at yourself this way? — Vironika Tugaleva

Loving yourself isn't just about celebrating your accomplishments and nurturing your talents. Those things are nice, sure. But that's not how we know others love us. We know others love us when they see us with our face on the ground, crying and weak, feeling like we've got nothing to offer the world - and they smile, and they reach out, and they love us anyway. Loving yourself is what you do when you fail, when you don't know, when you screw up, when you forget, when you lose everything. Loving yourself is what you do when you can't approve of what you've done. Loving yourself is what you do when you're not sure if it's going to get better. Loving yourself is what you must do in those moments when you can't like yourself. Real love is when you reach out for no good reason at all, except to love. — Vironika Tugaleva

To accept responsibility for your own feelings, your own triggers, and your own experience does not mean to stop communicating with others about how their words and actions affect you. You can own your emotions by not blaming others, and still give the people in your life gentle, loving feedback about how they can treat you in a way that helps your healing and happiness. Creating safe spaces is an interdependent process. It's not ever all about you and it's not ever all about the other person. It's about you coming together and working on the dynamics of your relationship together, taking responsibility for your own part and doing what you can to contribute to the well-being of the other. — Vironika Tugaleva

The more you've struggled to heal and love yourself, the more inspiring your story will be to others when you come out the other side full of triumph, awareness, and honour. Don't give up. Your struggle today is the source of your wisdom tomorrow. — Vironika Tugaleva

What if we all stopped fighting to belong and realized that we already do? What if we acknowledged, in each interaction with ourselves and with others, the eternal, beautiful interconnected energy that flows between us? What if we recognized our equality and celebrated our differences? Imagine how the world could be. — Vironika Tugaleva

Your pain is trying to tell you something. It is not an accident, a curse, or an inconvenience. Pain is a form of self-communication. — Vironika Tugaleva

In some ways, we will always be different. In other ways, we will always be the same. There is always room to disagree and blame, just as there is always room to take a new perspective and empathize. Understanding is a choice. — Vironika Tugaleva