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You Grow Through What You Go Through

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

By Susan F WeimerPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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Everything I have been through in my life has strengthened me. Not physically, I have some physical limitations because of some of my experiences. But, even this has strengthened me.

I'm not perfect. I have wallowed in self-pity, like many others. But I have also learned to pick myself up, brush myself off, hold my head high and keep moving forward.

One thing I have learned is self-pity halts personal growth. Poor me. Why me? Why you, you had some bad luck. I'm sorry, but the universe has not singled you out. Bad luck happens. Accept it.

Yes, some people seem to walk around with the ability to make everything they touch turn into gold, but I have a question for you. Why are you focused on their lives? Most of the time, you will find someone better off than you. Likewise, you will usually find someone worse off than you.

Me, I'm just glad I have a warm, dry place to sleep at night, and I have enough food that I'm not going hungry.

I have gone through some rough times, but I have always come out the other end, having learned something from it. Here are some things I have learned.

1. Own your mistakes. You will never grow as an individual unless you realize sometimes difficult things happen because you made an awful choice.

2. I am who I am and I refuse to apologize for it. Never allow someone to make you feel you have to apologize for being alive. They bullied me in high school so badly that I felt like just being alive was an inconvenience to everyone. What I eventually realized is that I am here. I'm alive. Deal with it.

3. You are enough. No one has to complete you. You are complete all by yourself. Find out who you are alone, by yourself, with no one else around.

4. Being alone doesn't have to mean being lonely. Learn to appreciate your own company by loving yourself.

5. Love yourself first. Whether you realize it or not, you cannot truly love someone else until you love yourself.

6. There are 7.9 billion people in the world, and I am the only me. No one else can be me except me. I'm special because I am uniquely me.

7. I refuse to apologize for having bipolar disorder. I didn't choose to be born with a mental illness and I won't walk around feeling like I have to apologize for it or be embarrassed by it. I am uniquely eccentric and a bit crazy. If you don't like it, go find someone boring to talk to ;-)

8. Live each moment like it may be your last. No one knows when their last moment in this life will be. Savor every moment.

9. Find something that makes you happy and do it. This one is pretty straightforward.

10. Don't dwell on the past. Okay, bad things have happened. You made mistakes. Learn from it and move on.

11. Not everyone will like you, but that doesn't make you less valuable. Don't change yourself so that other people will like you. You will lose yourself. Be your wonderful, unique self, and anyone who doesn't appreciate it is their loss, not yours.

12. What other people think of you doesn't matter. Does what someone else thinks of you change who you are? No. Ignore it. It does not affect your life.

13. People will often believe a lie over the truth. Why? Because the lie is often more interesting than the truth. For example, the lie would be that so and so is having an affair. The truth is, they are not. What do you think is the more interesting gossip?

These are some of my life lessons. The most significant ones. I have grown stronger with each lesson. Learning to love myself for who I am was the most valuable and life-changing lesson.

I hope someone will benefit from this. If this article hit home for you, let me know :-)

**********

If you liked my article, you can treat me to a cup of coffee. It will go a long way in supporting me as a writer.

self help
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About the Creator

Susan F Weimer

I live in a rural area in upstate New York with my fiancé and three dogs. Mine is a simple life filled with simple pleasures.

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