For sexual health, why not try abstinence? If you do get sexually intimate, do the cool thing:  use proper protection.

I see many people who think they have “Swagger.”  You know the type–they wave dollar bills, drive fast cars, wear bling-bling and pop-pop-pop-pop-pop champagne.  Often, when you get talking with a person like this you find out they have only discovered half the picture –the external.  The inner substance is lacking.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  Living it up and enjoying material things is pleasurable.  Partying with friends is tremendous fun too.  But when it comes to swagger, there is more to it, something much deeper.  In fact, you do not have to be loaded with money or sport the highest fashion to ginger True Swagger.

We each have swagger.  The Urban Dictionary defines “swagga” as “One’s own unique style or personality that sets them apart from anyone else . . . the lasting impression you have of that person.”

So how can you embody True Swagger, the kind that will leave a positive, lasting impression that makes people come back for more of you?

Apply these eight tips below and people may just start saying, “D guy swagga don high!”

1.       Live with long-term, healthy swagger.  Be a trend-setter amongst your peers.  Make it stylish to eat and drink responsibly.  Excessive eating puts on unwanted pounds; excessive drinking is dangerous (you dey kill your kidney oh!).  For sexual health, why not try abstinence? If you do get sexually intimate, do the cool thing:  use proper protection.

 2.       Clarify and express your personal style.  Do not worry so much about what others will be wearing.  Your swagger has to do with not worrying what others think of your style.  True swagger is wearing what you like for yourself.  Be YOU—full out, be your own beautiful self.

 3.       Enter with confidence.  Try this trick.  Wherever you go, walk into the room shoulders back and head high, as if you are wearing an invisible crown.  Be the royalty God created you to be!  True swagger is not cocky and it has no need for comparison.  It is humble and based in self-love.

 4.       Exude inner brightness.  Let your light shine and have fun shining it.  Celebrate your uniqueness and celebrate the uniqueness of others too.  Compliment others and feel the glow of their inner light.

 5.       Be powerfully present.   Engage your senses.  Groove to the music.  Taste the flavorful delights.  Admire colors and textures of your environment.  Put worry aside.  Remember, this moment is the only one you know for sure you have.

 6.       Stay complaint-free.  Ginger a positive swagger.  Leave all negativity at the door.  If you find yourself wanting to criticize or complain, stop!  See the best in others, in yourself and in your circumstances.  Okay, things may not be perfect, but there is always some good to find if you are willing to seek it.

7.       Be inclusive not exclusive.  Draw people in with your smile and your conversation.  If someone seems alone or left out, invite them into your circle.  Use your swagger to put people at ease.

 8.       Share your gifts.  Bring priceless gifts that money can’t buy—like hope, joy, peace and compassion.  As people interact with you, share positive energy and upliftment.  Listen in love.  Bubble with laughter.  Dance.  Our presence, our true swagger, is the most precious gift we have to give others.

Food For Thought

“To live is to choose. But to choose, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go, and why you want to get there.”

 Kofi Annan 

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 Patricia Omoqui, The Thought Dr.^TM, is an executive coach and business consultant, the author of Clarify Your Purpose and Live It!  She is sought after as an inspirational speaker, life coach and corporate/civil service trainer.  She calls herself Naija Oyinbo.  Connect on FB: Patricia Omoqui ThoughtDr or Twitter: @patriciaomoqui. Visit http://www.patriciaomoqui.com.