To Love Ones Self

What is the number one item in your life that you are constantly fighting with yourself about? Take a look at the first sentence and read it again. They key world is "yourself." We are living in a world with an exorbitant amount of pressure that is placed on us. We are constantly being compared to what other people look like, what they're doing with their lives, or where they are going, when they got the college degree, had the kid or the the all American dream—the White picket fence and 2.5 kids/dogs/ etc. When do we stop the comparisons and take a look at our own journeys as separate and equal?

Our lives are our own and our journeys are different. We don't climb the same mountain to get to the same place. Some paths are rocky and filled with struggle, and some paths are flat and easy. It doesn't matter how you got to where you're going, it matters that you got there and you're still trying. I have always said that comparison is the thief of joy. When we compare ourselves to others we start doubting how important our stories are. We start putting ourselves down and beating ourselves up because we are not where someone else is. We believe that life is a race and we are trying to get through an invisible finish line.

It is hard to treat ourselves well when we are inundated with this pressure to be perfect humans because that is what society has always taught us. Instead of looking inward we are constantly looking outward. We are seeing others success as our own shortcomings and failures. How does one begin to see themselves as imperfectly perfect with all of their flaws and completely worthy of what life has to offer us? What are the things that make you feel beautiful?

I, myself, have struggled with loving myself. I struggle with self doubt daily and let these doubts poison my mind and my daily life. I have heard, "You are not good enough" on play and rewind frequently. "I believed them. I was stuck because I placed too much value on what those people said and it made me feel depressed. I was hurt and confused and I didn't know how to fight with those demons in my head. I was not who I wanted to be because I didn't trust myself enough to let those thoughts turn into ash and dust.

We have all heard that positive affirmations help you to heal from the poison you have been fed, but how do you start to believe them? Retraining your thoughts from negative into positive is not an easy thing. It starts with ONE step. That's it. And that's where I myself will begin. My journey in this life is just beginning. I am not late. What will you tell yourself today? "I am beautiful and I am worthy of love", "I am capable", "I am not where I am supposed to be just yet but I will get there." These are some of my own positive affirmations that I am learning to say to myself daily. What is your love letter to yourself? Tell me how you combat the constant self doubt and comparisons to others in the comments.

Until next time.