It all starts with you
Hello friends,
The older I get, the more I realize how beautiful life actually is. It feels like loosing weight year by year, and realizing how much power every individual actually holds.
When I was younger, I was scared of the world. I would always try to get people's attention because I wanted everyone to like me. I tried to do good in school to try to get everyone's respect. I tried to not offend anyone so that people would like me.
I was scared that if people wouldn't like me, that I would be alone and abandoned.
I tried everything to get attention, and without surprise, I became a people pleaser.
The result? Never standing up for myself, people mocking me and not having a good time in my later school years. This was a punch for my self-esteem back then.
However, with the help of some good people around me, I got to rebuild myself and realizing something very important:
Prioritize your life first.
This was back then shocking for me: I never thought about it this way. I was so focused on the reaction of others, that I completely forgot myself. And I wasn't aware of a very important fact:
You are the most important person in your life. This means, it's your responsibility to look after yourself.
Actions build who you'll become. It chooses the experiences you'll have, the experiences that will form you into a new person, and will make you grow.
Are you happy with your life?
Are you listening to yourself or to what other people say?
Are the problems you face your own, or the ones created by others around you?
Life is full of paradoxes.
If you put yourself and your values above what other people think about you or want from you, they will almost always like you less, but respect you more. Do you know why?
Because you respect yourself first. You are not a pushover any more. And this goes way further.
People will trust you more when you trust yourself first.
People will like you more if you like yourself first.
People will want to spend more time with you if you want to spend more time with you first.
Once you decide to become this person, be prepared for a long journey that requires patience. Start small by standing up for yourself in a few situations, to respect your own goals a bit more, and built it up from there.
And once you get there, you'll realize, that it was never about others anyway.
It was always about becoming more of yourself. Of discovering who you are as an individual. Discovering who you are at a core. Figuring out life.
And then, enjoying the experience of being who you are.
This might sound like a horror story for a few, since they don't really like themselves yet. And that's okay. It takes time.
Can you accept who you are today?
And if not: Can you accept that you cannot accept who you are today?
What does need to happen that you accept today? Do you need to change? Or do you need to become more loving towards yourself?
In the end, it doesn't matter if you are rich, poor, fat, strong, weak, ugly, happy, angry, unsatisfied or just burned out. The fact you didn't decide to end your life at some point and committed to it, means that you love yourself. Self-love will always be here, if you like it or not.
So, why not take it to the next step? Can you accept that your life is the way it is right now? What will be your next step that you KNOW you can do?
Get to know yourself, build the life you want, and love yourself. This is what "just be yourself" translates to.
My Song of the week
Last Resort - Reimagined from Falling in Reverse is an emotional masterpiece.
Thank you so much for reading today's blog post. Keep going!
Much Love,
Kim