Being Kind...to Yourself

As friends, siblings, daughters, sons we tend to be more kind and generous to our friends, siblings and parents than we are to ourselves.  We tend to be more harsh, negative, non-forgiving and simply mean to ourselves.  Why is that?  Why can't we forgive ourselves?  Why can't we be kinder to ourselves and say nicer things rather than speaking so negatively to ourselves?  "You failed...again.  You're never going to make it.  You can't do that!  You need to lose weight.  You should work harder." All those negative things we say to ourselves on a daily basis.  Where does that come from?

A couple months ago, there a was segment on one of the morning news shows about an experiment someone did with a group of women trying to lose weight.  They had them keep journals about what they were thinking about themselves and how they saw themselves.  Then, they had those women sitting in a restaurant able to overhear two women talking and one women saying exactly what the women had written in her journal about herself...but out loud!  It sounded so harsh and cruel.  The women never caught on that those were their own words and felt badly for the women they were listening to.  That was a great experiment!  It shines a light and realization of how we talk to ourselves.  We say things that we would never say to a real friend.  We put ourselves down, we don't forgive ourselves for things and we shame ourselves.  It's not a good habit, but we all do it.  Are we conditioned to it, has it been ingrained in our culture or in our social environments?  How did we ALL learn to be so rude to ourselves?!

I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that I don't give myself a break.  I'm my harshest critic and I don't let myself off the hook.  That's not what God meant for our daily lives or for our growth journeys...according to a minister I heard on TV this morning.  God wants us to know that we all make mistakes, but as long as we have good hearts that stay in connection with Him that we need to forgive ourselves.  We need to give ourselves a break and learn from the valleys.  He wants us to trust in Him that we are in the right place and it's the right time for whatever is going on in our lives...and we'll soon be fulfilled by God's promises for our lives.  But, it's not in our timing but His.  All Glory and Honor will come to those that trust in Him.

So, my current journey brings me to this lesson...again...give myself a break.  It's OK, I'm OK and all will be well.

Whatever life lesson is sitting at your doorstep, may you have the fortitude and courage to see it, work through it and learn from it.  May God's blessings lift you up and show you new possibilities...today and through the coming week!