The universe is on my side. I am worthy of happiness, meaningful friendships and daily fulfillment. I will attract success into my life and radiate a positive energy that is contagious to those around me.I will be kind and without critical judgement. I will smile at challenges and emerge stronger, with grace and gratitude for the journey.

However, it is vital for the preservation of sanity and emotional well-being to remember that life is not a competition.

To be in a mindset in which comparison is central to feeling validated only produces more pain.

Rather than becoming overwhelmed with the work that I will need to do for these goals to be met, I utilize two methods: planning and manifesting. I believe that these elements go hand-in-hand and work in a practice of gratitude and self-appreciation, rather than the unhealthy pattern of comparison and subsequent painful stress.

In order for the manifestation portion to work, proper planning and action must be taken. We cannot wish into existence our greatest dreams. However, we can use our energy and spirit to ask the universe for opportunities, signs and avenues toward our goals. I think of that as a sort of conversation with the world around us. It is based on the law of attraction and is a sort of prayer practice that can be kept in a journal, as well as recited internally or externally.

I first give thanks for all of the gifts in my life, especially those that might go under-appreciated or seem to be the most basic, such as thanks for the sun, my breath, the grapefruit that I had for breakfast, my organs functioning and the day.

Next, I will imagine in detail the dreams that I wish to bring to fruition.

I will then typically create a table in my journal of my goals and the steps that I believe will bring me closer to these goals. I repeat the practice with patience and faith. Then, I wait, notice when doors open and take advantage.

However, these doors will not appear to us should we not pour ourselves into our goals wholeheartedly and with passion. We must take calculated risks. We must dedicate our time to our dreams. We must listen to our intuition and we must give our spirit the rest, nutrition and activity that it needs if we are to continue for the long-haul of achieving our goals.

The introvert will not find an abundance of healthy and happy friendships from merely asking the universe for kinship. The introvert must meditate on the desire and then go out into the world and ask people that they may have wrongly judged, questions, approach strangers with an open mind and meet their full potential through thoughtful action and risk.

Once you have practiced gratitude and mindfulness frequently, you will begin to "elevate your frequency." You may find that certain people who carry negative resistance to your growth or values with fade from your life and while it may be hard at first, it is necessary for your new, healthier relationships to develop.

Having a positive outlook, faith in the power of the universe and taking deliberate actions toward our goals every day, I truly believe that we shall receive greater avenues in the direction of our dreams.

I challenge you to start the school year mindfully and to set your goals high. I challenge you to spend time with your dreams and to take the calculated risks. I challenge you to treat yourself and others with non-judgement and love.

Finally, I challenge you to start the whole process with a meditation full of gratitude and appreciation for today because while thinking about the future can be productive, all we truly have is the now.