Hannah Robertson
Stories (1/0)
My Ongoing Journey to Self Acceptance
January 2021 I’m always keeping track and keeping score. How old I am, what I’ve eaten today, how much money I’m making, how much I’ve worked out this week, how much art I’ve made this month. It can be draining to keep score. It can highlight disappointments I have with myself. But lately, I've been trying to tell myself, “think less, feel more”. As a dancer, that’s something that I’ve heard in the studio. I’ve also heard it in guided meditations and I think it applies to many parts of my life. Instead of basing what to eat on what I’ve eaten earlier in the day, I am trying to base those decisions on how hungry I am and what I want to eat. Instead of holding myself to a strict work out schedule, I listen for when my body and my mind wants to move. And as it turns out, as a longtime mover, I want to move pretty often. I think it’s about the rules we give ourselves and how they align with our values. I don’t know that working out for the sake of having a six pack and being slimmer truly aligns with my values. Moving my body for the pleasure that it brings me and my desire to maintain my relationship to movement and dance is more in line with my values. If I consider myself an artist and human that is interested in connection, healing, learning and growth then that’s what my goals should align with. I’m thinking that if I become more in touch with who I am at my core, then it will be possible to quiet down the comparisons that I often make between others and myself. My automatic response to other people’s achievements is often to compare myself to them and inevitably feel a sense of shame at the idea that I’m not measuring up to where they are. But, if I know who I am and I practice acceptance, curiosity and openness on the journey to accomplishing my goals, then I think it will matter less what other people are doing. Or, even better, I can applaud what other people are doing and be genuinely happy for them.
By Hannah Robertson3 years ago in Longevity