I have been fortunate to observe my best friend and her fiancé plan their wedding for the past two years.  They got married this past Saturday, and it was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever seen.  I had an added layer of privilege because my friend chose me to be her maid of honor.  As I witnessed the pure joy and love of the day and watched the guests enjoying themselves as we celebrated this exquisite union I thought to myself, “ I wonder how many of these people have ever asked themselves this question:  What kind of relationship do I have with myself?  I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that most people have never paused to ask this question.  Ever.  And if they did, I am reasonably confident that most would say that they are much more kind, compassionate, generous, and gentle with others in their life that they care about than they are with themselves.

Why is this?  Why are we so hard on ourselves?  Is it because we have set such high expectations for ourselves or that we don’t believe we are living up to the expectations of others?  Do we think that self-compassion is self-indulgent?  Do we feel unworthy or undeserving?  I don’t have the answer because I know it is different for everyone, but I do think that the inquiry is important.  And, asking as well as answering the question is an important exercise to go through.  It is my belief that when we finally are able to evolve to our best self and embrace our authenticity, that is when we will start showing ourselves the same tender consideration that we reveal to those we love.

There is no magic pill that you can take to turn the corner on self-loathing but I think it is much less complicated than we like to make it.  Here’s what you need to do:

Decide.

Commit to your decision.

Believe in your decision.

Execute on inspired and intentional actions.

Trust in the process.

Stop resisting and receive.

Repeat often.

Start acting as though you love and believe in yourself.  Start BEING yourself.  Not someone others want you to be. No, simply BE you.  You must elevate your thinking, beliefs, and actions and as you are living in the constant state of becoming, feel satisfied with it.  Get in the receiving mode and quit suffering unnecessarily.  Seek the absolute joy in your days.  Focus on feeling satisfied and don’t be impatient with the unfolding.  ALLOW what you want to be.  And whatever you do, have fun!

Stay true and be you —

Annie