You wake up later than you anticipate this morning, gently pressing the snooze button one more time. One more time. One more time.

Be kind to yourself today.

Gently pressing your feet against the chill floor, you rise as you stretch your way out of the warm, cozy, inviting bed. Tempted, you look longingly at your covers but instead greet the day with your presence.

Be kind to yourself today.

You overestimate how much time you have given yourself to get ready, but that is okay. After all, what are simple shirts and sweats for? You shuffle through your dressers caught in a morning doze, suddenly realizing you do not own sweats. That is okay, they are not your style, and you would rather not anyway. You decide to slip on your favorite pair of jeans instead. You shuffle through for the second time, but the jeans are nowhere to be found. That is when you remember, your jeans are in your laundry bag waiting to be washed.

Be kind to yourself today.

Next, you look toward the mirror lurking with an airy pride about itself. It likes your attention and patiently waits. The fluorescent light bears itself brightly with a glimmering effect that catches the corner of your eye. The mirrors glow draws you closer. The mirror has caught your interest, and reflected back is the you that is already too drained from the pressure to look a certain way. Nevertheless you indulge and focus on the imperfections: the hair too frizzy, the eyes too tired, the smile pasted on your face too forced. You realize perhaps this is the time that you’ve stared into the looking glass one too many times. You are not vain. You are not insecure. Yet perhaps you are a little bit of both, honestly searching for a way to ignore the thoughts that press you to be something, someone, that you are not. Grace is not as easy as it seems. Stop.

Be kind to yourself today.

Humbled by the routine of old patterns of thinking, I will admit that I used to live through negative self-thought processes. This past year, however, has focused me to self-love, grace and encouragement through meditation, brain retraining and my active unrelenting pursuit of Christ. I am liberated and no longer feel bound by the expectations I used to feel compelled to fulfill.

Still, women are plastered on signs, magazines, television shows, commercials, movies and more often in sexualized manners. Women are not the only ones exploited in this and in many other ways. Men, too, face the challenge of rising to social standards, however you may personally define those standards through personal experience and perspective. So, how can we, as unique and wonderfully created children in God’s image, ignore if not fight back these underlying pressures of not only the world but of ourselves? The world can be a tough critic, but is it not true that just as much as the world is sending us these false messages of beauty and of self-worth that we too are feeding ourselves with these constant expectations?

Dear women and men of the world, you are precious gifts predestined with a mission and purpose. You are loved, you are cherished, you are important, and you can accomplish anything you put your mind to so long as your actions are God honoring. For Psalm 37:4 says, “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

I challenge you — my dear friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, whomever you may be — to give yourself time to meditate on self-love. Begin by complimenting yourself. Look into the mirror and declare encouraging thoughts such as “You are incredibly smart” or “You are loved and wanted.” This action may feel awkward at first, but I challenge you to re-associate the mirror with better ways of thinking. Give that mirror a purpose for good, or toss it out. You do not need that negativity in your life.

Take as many moments out of your day to meditate on how you choose to respond to yourself. By giving yourself new ways of thinking of yourself, you are literally rewiring the chemistry in your brain, making new neurological pathways that can change the way you think, feel and act!

Women and men alike all have instances of self doubt and compare ourselves with what we see and expose ourselves to. Challenge yourself to a higher standard of self-thought that is as nourishing as any negative thought is tempting.

Be kind to yourself today.

With grace and the poise of self confidence you enter into a new reality, one of self love and determination. You look into the mirror again and recognize not what used to reflect, but now you instead reflect true worth and feel capable of entering the gift of another day.