Stop Making Yourself Wrong

I was having a conversation with someone last night, and one of the highlights of our discussion was how easy it is to make ourselves wrong.

Naturally, it is hard to feel internal peace if we feel wrong about our decisions, and choices on a regular basis. We all make mistakes but living as though we are a mistake is another matter entirely.

Ironically, it isn’t our decisions that are causing us grief, as much as, our lack of gentleness with ourselves, especially if a choice we make doesn’t feel as we’d hoped it would.

Granted, maybe we can make better choices in a number of situations, but beating ourselves up is more of a problem, than our decision making abilities.

Critical self-judgment does not help us improve anything, and actually harms us by locking our pain and patterns into place. Acceptance of ourselves, however, allows us to look at those areas that aren’t working for us with loving compassion, and gives us the energy and awareness to make empowering corrections.

Action Step:

Start being gentle and kind with yourself today. Become aware that the real problem is often self-criticism, and not the situation you are beating yourself up about.

Listen To Your Wise Self

With Valentine’s Day approaching, the topic of love is beautifully highlighted, and lovely expressions for those we cherish are emphasized.

Similarly, there are often feelings of longing and lack as well, depending on our situation.

However, no matter what our circumstances may be, there is one person who can always use our attention, love and support and that is ourselves, especially during times of change when we are feeling our most vulnerable.

Below is a personal journal entry, written by New York Times bestselling author Cheryl Richardson, during a transitional period in her life when she needed extra encouragement and comfort.

Thankfully she shared it with us to use as well.

Enjoy!

Dear Lovely,

Take a deep breath.  Big change is on the way.

It’s all good even though it may not feel that way right now. 

 Remember what happens when change starts brewing…

You become cat-like curious about new worlds.

You have an intuitive sense that something wonderful is on its way but you mostly feel nervous.

The more nervous you feel, the more the things you’ve outgrown become attractive again.

You catch yourself hanging onto what’s familiar.

The anxious, fearful voices in your head get louder.

You question yourself – your thinking, your motives, and your decision-making ability.

You feel a growing sense of excitement and relief in knowing that you’re about to set yourself free from an outdated prison.

But the relief and excitement are not strong enough yet.

So you teeter on the edge between what you know for sure and what you secretly desire. 

Stay there!

Ride the edge of uncertainty for a while.  

Become cozy and comfortable with doubt. 

Fall in love with ambiguity and chance.  

The edge is a place where trailblazers live – brave men and women who are incapable of settling for less.

Even though they try.   

Don’t shortcut the process.

Otherwise you end up with good instead of great.

Be patient. 

Stay on the edge long enough for the next, important stage of your life to unfold.  And unfold it will. 

It always does.

You just need to remember to Trust Life.

Be willing to sit in the darkness waiting for something solid and true and soulful to reach out and grab you.

And then the next adventure will begin.  

I have your back every step of the way.

Love, Your Wise Self