Hear me out on Self-Worth

    So I have this idea that our ability to give ourselves credit is related to our own self-worth. I may be wrong but hear me out.

    Life can be hard. That's and understatement. Life can  be arduous and overwhelmingly exhausting. Sometimes every moment comes with so much pressure to perform and to be 'just so' and if we are not 'just' so' then we beat ourselves up because the pressure is so high. But why is the pressure so high?And why do we need to be 'just so' instead of who we are at our core? Why can't you just be you and me just be me? We get so caught up in this idea that if we aren't being what society, friends, the church, our families think we should be then the phrases like "I am not enough.", "I'll never measure up.", "I am wasted space." and such start pouring into our heads. The more crap like this is perpetuated the more we see our own self worth dwindle. Focusing on all the ways you "don't measure up" to anyone else's standards or even the impossible ones you set for yourself is not the answer to success. Please don't get me wrong, striving for excellence is great! Just make sure you identify what excellence is for YOU and love yourself on the way there.

     There are several ways to show love to oneself. Let's just talk about a couple right now though. Grace. Give yourself some grace. If you are not where you want yourself to be whether it be in relationships, character, finances, business, or whatever, give yourself grace. Be nice to yourself. Forgive yourself and move on.You can't move forward and get to where you want to be if you are always looking back over your shoulder at all the ways you've messed up. Trust me, I know. I have stayed stagnant in my life more times than I can count being overwhelmed by grief for the poor choices I've made and too struck by fear to try again for the chance that I may screw up again. It's life people! :) We are all just doing the best we can. We are all in it together. So let's learn from our mistakes and move on with grace. You are worth it!!!

     Another way you can show love for yourself is..... you've guessed it....giving yourself credit. By simply giving yourself credit when credit is due tells yourself you ARE worth it, you did good there, you can succeed, you are enough. Congratulating yourself on the the successes in your life, however small, builds your value in your own mind. Then, when those pesky nasty thoughts come into your mind you have ammo to fire back. "Not today Worthless Thoughts! I have my arsenal of Credit and I'm building up some more today!" Giving yourself credit can open up a whole new word of confidence in yourself, like seeing the world through new eyes.

     I've found all of this to be true for myself. I've found that this simple act has great implications on my character. I don't have to look to someone else to affirm my worth, I can do that for myself.
Wait. Did you catch that?
I  don't  have  to  look  to  someone  else  to  affirm  my  worth,  I  can  do  that  myself.
You don't have to either. Now, I'm not saying that everyone reading this blog has this issue but I'm pretty sure more people have this issue than we are aware. So I'm just putting it out there. I would tell you, "You are worth it." but I think you can find and know that for yourself.