Be Kind To Yourself

There is no doubt that you have encountered some pretty unpleasant people in the world; whether it be someone who has treated you poorly, someone who has called you names, made fun of the way you dress, or has made you feel left out or unwanted. It is very common we focus our thoughts on these negative people, constantly worried about what they think of us or what they will do next to make us feel bad about ourselves; but what if I told you that these people are not the ones we should be worried about in life. Their opinions are not the ones that matter. What is more important, is how we view ourselves and our level of self-respect.
     I wonder how many of you out there have ever told yourself that you aren't good enough, or that you are bound to fail in whatever you do....Or that “you're not smart enough”, “you didn't try hard enough”, “you'll never make it to where you want to go”, “ you're too short”, “you're not strong enough”, etc. Now these are the thoughts and comments we should be wary about; not those that come from others, but rather, the ones we speak to ourselves. Having positive self-thoughts is truly essential for building a happy life. Self-encouragement and constructive thought processes will allow us to grow as individuals and help us to foster self-love.  When we develop a sense of self-love, we will then be able to achieve our goals and feel a sense of fulfillment in life.  
     There are times where we all have the ability to be our own biggest enemies; we set high expectations for ourselves, over critique our abilities as we try to reach perfection, and even self-judge when we don't achieve things we think are expected of us. What it is important to realize is that our thoughts become our reality. If we continue to put ourselves down we will never be able to build up and move forward. It is only when we are self-encouraging and self-appreciating, that we are able to succeed in the future.
     When we experience failure, or are struggling with something we thought would be easy, try to approach the situation from a positive point of view. I am not saying you shouldn't push yourself to do better or improve on your skills, but what I am saying is to focus on one positive aspect you can take from the experience and use that as motivation to propel you forward. Don’t focus on self deprecating thoughts, but rather, focus on something you can improve on and acknowledge the things you have been successful at.

     Instead of thinking about things you haven't done, or things you've done wrong, or things you have failed at- think about the things you've accomplished, the times where you have had success, and think about ways you can work to become even better, while also showing self appreciation. I am sure we can all think of many times where we felt disappointed with how we performed on something; but why do we rarely think of the times where we've achieved something great, or even took part in a simple act of kindness to make someone else's day a bit better? These small positives in life should be acknowledged.

     It's great to want to push yourself to become a better person and improve on various skills, but don’t forget to love yourself in the process. Without self love, it doesn't matter how smart, how skillful, or how talented you are. Success is built on approaching things from a positive point of view, and that includes how we treat and view ourselves. You will never be able to achieve greatness with a voice in your head saying, “you're not great”. So please, acknowledge your accomplishments, treat yourself kindly, and be proud of who you are.

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