Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you feel completely lost and alone? Almost like you’re screaming so loud for help but no one can hear you? You feel like you’re dying on the inside, but appear completely silent on the outside because you give off absolutely no evidence that something could be wrong. You hide it all behind a smile. Sometimes, you feel like no one cares, and that’s evident when you see people you know clearly going about their life like everything is fine, and you’re just stuck at a complete standstill and can’t figure out why you aren’t okay. However, when you take a step back and really look at the big picture, you realize that you aren’t alone. You realize that everyone goes through their own struggles time and time again, and we’re all just trying to do our best to figure out how to navigate through the crazy curveballs life can throw at us. Oftentimes, we find ourselves being the culprits of our own sadness and misery, and that’s exactly when we need to face our own worst enemy within us.
You see I’ve spent much of my life feeling like I wasn’t okay. Feeling so alone with all of my complex emotions, and not being able to figure out how to overcome them. It’s in those moments that I would really beat myself up. I would say all of these bad things to myself. I would cut myself down constantly. I would judge myself for how I looked and felt. I’d criticize myself for all of the decisions that I made. I would convince myself that that miserable person was who I was and all I’d ever be. I allowed all of that negativity to just break me down completely. And let me just tell you, it was downright exhausting. I hated every second of it. That’s exactly why I’ve decided, from this day forward, to stop doing that to myself. I’ve realized that I need to stop all those negative voices in my head because I let them hold me back. I let those voices overcome me with fear, and I always let them win. I always let them control me.
So, I’ve decided to stop being my own worst enemy.
I think as human beings, we’re genetically inclined to be judgmental, especially when it comes to ourselves. We tell ourselves that we’re not smart enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, nice enough…the list could go on and on. Why do we do this? Why do we always feel like we’re in competition with one another? Why do we always cut ourselves down instead of embracing ourselves for exactly who we are? It’s ridiculous, if you really think about it. We spend SO much time and energy being envious of other people and wanting their lives that we forget to take a step back and look at all that we do have right in front of us. You have your family, your friends, your health, your job, a roof over your head, yet you tell yourself that it still isn’t enough. You still want more, even though you know that there are people in this world who aren’t fortunate enough to have all of those things. You may remind yourself of this sometimes, but you don’t fully take it into consideration. You just find a way to make it about yourself again. But why?
…Because you’re still trying to fulfill a void in your life that can’t be filled in the way you are seeking it. The truth is that when you start being grateful for your life and all of the amazing things in it, you’ll quickly realize that that is enough. That is all the fulfillment you’ll ever need.
It starts with that one realization right there. That realization that you really do have everything you need and more. Be grateful for that. Then, take the next step and turn off all those negative voices in your head. Seriously, you just need to tell those voices to shut up. They don’t control you, and they certainly don’t deserve another ounce of your precious time or energy. Replace those negative voices in your head with positive ones. Instead of telling yourself “I can’t do this,” tell yourself “you know what? I can do this and I’m going to prove that to myself right now because I’m worth it.”
The fact of the matter is that the only person you need to focus on impressing and loving in your life is YOU!
Because honestly, how can you expect to build strong bonds and relationships with other people in your life if you can’t even love yourself first? The only way anything else in life will work out is if you’re truly in love with who you are as a person, and you accept yourself for all of the imperfect flaws that you possess. Without those flaws, you wouldn’t be the person you are today. You also need to believe in yourself, no matter what, and if you feel like you’re not happy with yourself, then you really need to dig deep within and figure out why that is and what you can do to change it and make it better.
It is SO incredibly important that you know your self worth. Take pride in all that you’ve accomplished in life. Forgive yourself for all of the mistakes you made and know that you will make more as life goes on. People make mistakes everyday, but it’s okay. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t. Love yourself unconditionally. Love your family and your friends. Laugh at the little things and shake off whatever negativity you may face.
Make yourself your biggest fan and you’ll stop being your own worst enemy.
La Bella Vita 