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It’s time.
It’s time I finally call myself out on my (perceived) personality weaknesses, character traits, and failed expectations. And, it’s time I make a decision:
Will I choose to hold myself to such an impossible standard — as to never truly love and approve of myself — or will I be willing to show myself compassion and recognize that failing to do so means I will never truly accept anyone?
- I can be impatient. I recognize this is because I have exceedingly high expectations on myself and others.
- Sometimes, my impulsivity affects others in a way that doesn’t make them feel good.
- I get angry. Mostly, I have anger stored inside (my gut) that I am still spending time releasing. It helps to box a punching bag, scream into a pillow, or find the place in my body where I feel the anger and send it love.
- Since I hold myself to such an impossible standard, I tend to be surprised if someone else doesn’t do something or say something when I consider it a given. This is unfair to others, and it doesn’t even make any sense to see life this way. It’s simply an engrained pattern I’ve become aware of and am releasing through my awareness.
- I go through cycles of taking incredible care of my body and mind — to the best of my ability — and then I slack off sometimes and get by. Because I know how to cheat the system (i.e. stay lean in spite of decisions I might make), others typically don’t notice. However, I don’t feel as good on the inside when I treat myself this way, and I notice my mind — and gut — have more negative tendencies when I am not caring for myself to the best of my ability. The steps I’m taking to avoid doing this in the future are: awareness, self-forgiveness if it happens, and time for reflection to gauge progress.
- Sometimes, I want more time for myself than I feel is fair or reasonable. I like to exercise, be outside, meditate, learn, explore the world, get into adult conversations, and also have tons of time for family and kids. And sometimes, I like to do it at my own pace, because I like to do things quickly and typically don’t want to rush others. So, instead of enjoying the activity, I might rush through it, feel guilty, and return home without the satisfaction of doing what my heart asked me to do. This form of self-criticism feels like a negative trait for me, which is a form of self-judgment I’d prefer ‘not’ to have. However, I am aware that judgment, or discernment, is also one of my greatest gifts and helps me carve the path towards achievement whenever I set a goal. So, it’s a matter of gaining awareness, once again, and then asking myself if this is a beneficial form of judgment or if it’s a mind game that serves no purpose.
You see, I’ve got “stuff”. We all do. And by writing it down, I’m calling myself out; in this case, to one million+ people. I’ve written down what I’d like to change about myself, the steps I’m taking to make changes, and now it’s time to create a truce.
It’s time to find resolution now that I have a plan, and it’s time to set a powerful intention to accept myself. It’s time to recognize other people also have their own “stuff” and sometimes it pairs well with my stuff, and sometimes it doesn’t. This means there will be easier and more difficult conversations and experiences, and no matter what, it’s just stuff.
As of this moment, I am releasing myself from the ‘pressure’ to improve in any of the categories above. I know I try my best, and I do so in everything I do, every day. Sometimes, I make mistakes, and from those perceived mistakes, I tend to learn my greatest lessons. In the end, my life improves because of the ways I wish to improve myself. I choose to trust that I’m pretty good at hitting goals when I understand how to hit them and why they are important, and I’m willing to accept that it’s perfectly normal to have “stuff”, whether I would prefer to have someone else’s stuff or my own.
Today’s thought exercise
How about you? What’s your stuff? And are you willing to create a plan of action to make changes in those areas of your life and then release yourself from the pressure of achieving in order to completely love yourself?
Join me. It’s a new day. It’s time to free ourselves from the judgments of our minds. It’s time to become our own favorite people.
We can do this.
Sent to you with love, honor, and in service,
