The Things I Still Don’t Love About Me

It’s hard to believe that I am fifty-one years old, and I am still battling some of the insecure feelings I had when I was a teenager. Of course, not all of them, and not all the time but enough to still wonder when I will learn to love them. Encouraging others, being kind, loving more, and accepting people for who they are and where they’re at has pretty much been my mission in life for at least the last twenty-plus years. Why can I believe that others are enough just the way they are, but not necessarily myself? The positive vibe things that I promote should also apply to me, but why is it so hard to accept them?

I am extra hard on myself. I have come so far and have overcome so many struggles in my life, but in certain situations, those nagging insecurities come right back. I over-analyze myself. I constantly assess if I did something right, wrong, or should have done better and always worry that I unintentionally crossed a boundary or made someone feel like they’re not enough. Maybe we’re all just hard on ourselves because we know that we are imperfect humans. Even though we are not perfect, we nonetheless still want to fall into the category of being closer to perfection than not.

When I talk to a friend, I believe 100% that their human imperfections are perfectly normal. I would encourage and support them in any way that I could without judgment. So how can I believe that in me too? That I am okay, without judgment, that I am capable of reaching my goals too. I have been thinking a lot about this challenge. I have recently focused on social media’s self-love and self-acceptance mantras, sayings, mottos, statements, and all words that inspire. There are so many labels for these positive inspirations. Still, they are all statements that remind us that we are enough, to keep going despite our imperfections and that our worth is unimpacted regardless of them.

So, I will intentionally practice saying some of these beautiful and meaningful words to myself daily. In hopes that I can learn to love the things, I don’t love about myself and learn to accept the things I can’t change. I will never stop trying to be my best self, but I can focus on more positive self-talk and learn to let some of my insecurities go, especially those I have been carrying for too long. I hope that if you feel this too, that you can begin to remind yourself through positive self-talk that you are loved, you are enough, you can make it through the tough times, you deserve to be happy, and reach your dreams and goals. Let’s commit to learning to love the things we don’t love about ourselves and accept the things we cannot change.

Love & Positive Vibes,

Lisa I @theresilientadvocate I https://www.theresilientadvocate.com

Self-love Picture: @tylerfeder I Roaring Softly