My Top 10 tips to live your best life

SHAFAQ NAAZ has been entertaining audiences ever since she made a winning debut in Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai in 2010, with popular serials that have included Mahabharat and Chidiya Ghar.

The versatile actress has continued her winning run of performances with a starring role in hit drama serial Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin. Apart from her undeniable talent, the one thing that has driven the popular star is the principles she has lived by.

Eastern Eye got her to reveal ways to perfection in life, work and relationships.

Respect: Whether it is personal or professional, a key to any relationship is respect. Having that mutual respect between two people in a relationship or a group trying to work together is an important factor in success and a solid foundation to build something great.

Kindness: The world is lacking in kindness –it is sad but true. In the troubled times we live

in, it is just so important to be more under standing towards everyone. The smallest act of kindness can make the biggest difference and sometimes, without you realising it. And we shouldn’t just be kind to each other, but also to ourselves, and this is something we often forget.

Patience: When something doesn’t work for us, it’s natural to get that urgency and become restless, but we must have patience and trust the process. I’ve not had a lot of patience in my life earlier, but now I’m trusting the process. I breathe and let things work themselves out. It is also important to be patient with yourself and for give any mistakes. There is a reason why they say, ‘patience is a virtue’.

Boundaries: It is great to be open to new people and opportunities, but also essential to

have boundaries to save your inner peace. No matter what relationship you share with other people, you just need to maintain respect and draw that boundary to help your emotional sanity. (This includes learning how to say no without feeling bad).

Learn from mistakes: Forgive your mistakes but learn from them. If I’m part of a project and it doesn’t work the way we expected, I try to understand what didn’t work for me and how I can make it better in my next project. That’s how we learn from our mistakes. Failure and  success is a part of life, and we should learn from our wins and losses. Each failure teaches us more than success and ultimately makes us stronger.

Be responsible: When you are reliable it means you are responsible, and people trust you. A reliable person is understanding and it’s a great quality to have. When it comes to work, a reliable person leaves a good impression and that shows his or her commitment. That sense of responsibility also applies to how you conduct yourself, especially if you are in the public eye.

Self-expression: When I was in my late 20s, I was not very expressive. Whenever I felt bad or did not like something, I never shared it with anyone. It took time for me to open up and start sharing my feelings. We often try to be reserved and not express our inner feeling but if we do, it only helps our relationship to grow. Be expressive in a nice way and put across your feelings so that it doesn’t hurt anyone.

Honesty: It is so important to be honest be cause that defines you. Everyone should try to be honest in their personal and professional life. It gives them credibility. An honest person is reliable and trusted. Honesty is connected to integrity, inner peace, loyalty, karma and living your best life. I believe if you expect honesty, first apply it on yourself.

Self-awareness: Always be aware of your surroundings. If you are clear and aware about what’s happening around you, a lot of your personal troubles will vanish. The path ahead will become clearer. A lot of work and self-criticism goes into it, but it’s worth it.

Passion is the key: We should be driven by passion because a passionate person gives 100 per cent to whatever they do. I believe if I didn’t truly love my work, I could have not given my best. My passion helps me bring an A-game to my work every time and keeps me going. So, it’s very important to be passionate in life. Love life and life will love you right back.

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