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‘‘If we lose love and self-respect for each other, this is how we finally die.”
Maya Angelou
So often our feelings of self doubt affects everything we do. It makes us more stressed, less happy, anxious, depressed, stuck, procrastinating, less present in relationships, less focused, more likely to reach for comfort foods or distraction or mindless shopping to comfort ourselves from the stress and pain of being who we are.
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But if we could give ourselves love and respect, it would start to heal all of this. Everything could shift. We could handle with uncertainty and chaos and difficulty in a much more resilient way.
Giving ourselves love and respect is such an important act of self-care, and yet is rarely ever done.
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Try not to let your mistakes or weaknesses define who you are. Do not say, “I’m a loser, no one loves me, I hate myself.” You will soon believe what you say. Yet if you say to yourself, “I am a person worth loving and respecting,” you will start to believe it about yourself.
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Remind yourself of your strengths and the qualities you have to offer others. No one can truly understand the way you think, the way you do things and act. Being different is a blessing, not a curse. So, respecting yourself is to love who you are and love your personality.
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Decide not violate your own moral codes. There will always be people who treat themselves with poor self-respect, because they have done disrespectful things or violated their own moral code and hate themselves for it. There is a saying among some psychologists which states, “If you think better, you will act better. And if you act better, you will feel better.” I totally agree. The opposite is also true. If you think poorly, you will act poorly. And if you act poorly, you will feel poorly. Your self-respect will be extremely low and unhappiness will be your constant companion.
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Increase your knowledge. Develop interests and passions. Find a hobby. Learn as much as you can. Learning about things going on in the world around you will expand your brainpower and understanding, and will let you speak intelligently to a wide variety of people you meet. As you explore all the different opportunities this world has to offer, you will learn more about what you personally have to offer back to the people around you. There are so many people who live in such a small world, they feel others would never value their opinions and what they know. They see themselves as stupid. The way you see yourself is the way you will act.
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Remember that when you start loving yourself and respecting yourself things will change. Get to know your worth, and your value will go up. Today is the day….. It is time to break the self doubt cycle and remind yourself to treat yourself better.
“When you begin to care too much about what everyone else says, your confidence shrinks and you start to feel like insignificant, little Jack in a strange land of intimidating giants. But when you come to realize that opinions are as diverse and plentiful as dried beans, you might reach the conclusion that your own is of the greatest worth. That’s when your confidence grows, and soon you find yourself striding like Gandalf the wondrous wizard among common hobbits in the shire. Respecting your own opinion is the magic that transforms both you and your world.”
Richelle E. Goodrich
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