One of my biggest struggles in life has been my ability to show compassion to myself. It may seem crazy, but it’s true. For so long, I didn’t accept my imperfections. To take it a step further, I really disliked parts of myself. Regardless of how hard I worked, it was never enough. I was never enough.
When I worked out, instead of being grateful for my abilities, I focused on what I couldn’t do. Every time I had pain or an injury, I said hurtful things to myself. Honestly, I could never live up to my expectations of myself. My constant negative self-talk caused me to become depressed. I couldn’t escape my thoughts or the cruelty that I experienced daily. How other people treat us is not nearly as important as how we treat ourselves.
One day God showed me what I was doing to myself. This question shocked me and made me start thinking about my life. Would you talk to anyone else like you talk to yourself? No, of course not. I would never say to someone else the things that I was saying to myself every day. That was my awakening moment.
Then, I asked myself new questions. What would happen if I learned to be my own best friend? How would compassion and love make a difference in my life? So often we expect these things to come from others, but our soul wants to please us. Our soul needs our love and compassion.
What we say to ourselves will either build us up or tear us down. We change our lives in an instant, when we change the way we speak to ourselves. Compassion and love should be our automatic response to every situation. God knows our faults and failures, but He loves beyond our fleshly imperfections. And we should, too.
This is something that I am still struggling with. I still have to think about it and ask myself if I am responding with love and compassion. But I’m working on it. The changes that I have already created have made such a difference in my life. When we love ourselves, other people’s opinions don’t matter nearly as much. The more love and compassion that we have in our own lives, the more that we have to give others.
Love and blessings,
Candida
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