About a week ago, I talked with a close friend of mine and the conversation was lengthy. She tried to dig deep into my insecurities and my fears to figure out why I'm so critical of myself. Everyone tells you that you are your own worst critique, yet with me, it felt as if there were about six of me trying to drag me down. I didn't really see a lot of positivity and strength in my person. I have potential and accomplishments that I don['t congratulate and remind myself of. It's as if they have hidden from my memory until further notice.
So I was told that I have to do daily affirmations. It wasn't really a homework assignment, but more so a personal goal for myself. A way for me to recognize my gifts, strengths, abilities, and the little things that I should proud of. The thing about it is that its harder than it seems. You could just list of tiny things but then once you run out of those small things, what's left? You could say that you're proud that you went to class or that you finally went to bed at a decent time. But what if that's all you got?
Don't think like that. There's plenty more to say about yourself. Which is what I was told. Since my pride and emotional well being were suffering from my constant negativity and self-doubting, I really needed to figure out why I should be proud of who I am. It's not much of a self-journey but more so a method of realizing your self-worth and knowing that you are better than what you think you are. No, it's not to boost your ego so high that you think you're the shit and that you can do no wrong. Its to make you feel like you're the best even when you don't feel it, its to give you more confidence in yourself so you don't always feel as if you're failing.
I started telling myself that I'm proud of how far I come, how far I'm trying to go, for actually taking time to do my hair, getting homework done early, etc. With doing daily affirmations, you have to sit yourself down and actually think about everything you've done or every doubt you've ever had. Then take what you've found and find the positive. The activities you do on a daily basis could be a great start. If you're someone who doesn't go to class regularly and then notice that you went to class every day for a week, you would congratulate yourself on that. I'm proud of myself for not skipping any classes yet.
I think people, especially those who are highly critical of themselves, should actually take time to remind themselves who they are and that they are the best that they can be.
