PLEASE BE KIND TO YOURSELF
Being kind to yourself involves accepting who you really are. It also involves rejecting who you are not. One thing that you should reject and never feel you have to be is perfect.
We know we are not perfect, and life cannot be perfect, but when we fall we fall short of someone’s standard, or our own standards, it makes us aware of our imperfections all the more. We wonder: “If I do things as close to perfect as possible, will I be able to avoid feeling worthless? Useless? Like a failure?”
We’ve all heard “nobody’s perfect” and “life isn’t perfect,” and yet, we are presented with models and ideals of how we should be. And to not reach those heights only magnifies our imperfections. We start to believe we are nothing but a sum of our imperfections, and the low points of our lives seem to affirm this as truth. Even when other people affirm the lies in some way, we start believing them. When we feel like we are not pretty, and someone else does not acknowledge our appearance in a positive way, we might feel ugly. When we do not feel as successful as our peers and others seem to be soaring past us, we might feel like failures. When we feel like we are a burden because of our pain and no one offers to help, we might feel that maybe we really are a burden.
You might not be able to do everything perfectly or to be perfectly content with yourself all the time, but this should never result in rejecting yourself. You might still be learning to believe the truth about your worth, but believing the lies does not need to be the substitute. Whatever you are lacking should never take away from your true value.
A lack of perfection should never result in rejecting yourself.
A lack of success should never result in seeing yourself as a failure.
A lack of a loving relationship should never make you feel you are not worthy of love.
A lack of fulfillment in one area of life should never make you feel you are not whole.
A lack of motivation during a global pandemic should not make you feel worthless.
You are a human being worthy of love, right here as you are. Even when you don't feel like you're worthy of a break from work, rest, and you're still feeling that pressure to be some version of perfect, you're allowed to push against that in the best way you know. You're allowed to rebelliously choose to take care of yourself, even when you feel like you should be doing something else.
Your body is worthy of gentleness even when you do not feel satisfied with the skin you are in. Your heart is worthy of love even when you have been rejected by the one you’ve loved. Your hard work matters even in the middle of the project. Your uniqueness is worth accepting even when you don’t quite fit into the “in-crowd.” Your mind is worthy of a break even when you have a long list of things to do. You are worthy of experiencing a life of love, peace, and joy, right here in your in-betweens.
Be kind to yourself,
right here where you are,
for you are more than your failures,
your losses, your scars.
You are worthy of love and kindness
no matter the times you have been rejected.
You are beautiful and whole,
and worthy of being accepted.
Word of the Day: Unique (adj): being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else (Oxford Languages)
Journal: What are three things you love about yourself?
Affirmation: I will be kind to myself today.
More in this week's series called "Embrace a New Perspective", only with a subscription in the Storyteller App.
Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols
