About 6 weeks ago, I wrote a post in which I outlined some of the self-talk that goes through my head:
1. Shut up, just shut up. You’re so stupid and NO ONE CARES.
2. I bet none of them really like you. They only put up with you because they have to.
3. OH MY GOD you are so dumb. Seriously, shut the hell up.
Just a few of the examples I struggle with constantly. There’s more, believe me.
But recently, I’ve been showered with a lot of goodness. Here are some of the things that people told me the past few days:
· I really love seeing your face around here.
· You’re one of the few people I feel is authentic.
· How could anyone not like you?
· I had such a good time with you this weekend!
· I get so excited when I see we’re working together!
· I miss you so hard.
· So lucky to know this beautiful one (the caption under a photo, posted by a friend, of me and her).
Every beautiful thing that someone told me made my heart swell. I could hardly believe it. People really felt that way about me? I wanted to take every one of those sentences, bottle them up, and save the bottle for those days when I feel ugly, like I’m doing/saying everything wrong, and like I’m making everyone mad. Or, those days when I start wondering what I can do to stop people from being mad and me and/or possibly hating me.
But this is so important to remember….
{via}
By being real and being me, the right people will love me, and I them. It all works out. I am so blessed.
It’s amazing how words can affect a person. I know that all the negative self-talk is no bueno. NOTHING good is ever going to come from being so down on myself. And when I think of how tingly and happy I felt when people were saying all those nice things about me, I wonder if I could recreate the same effect myself if I stopped talking down to myself all the time.
{via}
It’s hard to change those patterns. I need to practice and practice and practice. Words are very powerful–don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. I need to feed myself more of this good stuff rather than hatred and vitriol. Who knows what I could accomplish once I stop talking down to myself and start raising myself up?
Who knows indeed.
I can so relate to this. One of my worst habits is how I talk to myself… I’m so often convinced that people don’t like me and that I have nothing of value to offer the world that I’m taken aback when someone actually does express that they like me and value what I have to say.
YES. You’ve completely hit the nail on the head with that feeling. I know it well. I wonder what happened to give us this opinion of ourselves?
It’s hard not to let negative feelings/thoughts/words in. I struggle with that daily myself. But it’s also good to relish in the way you feel when someone pays you a compliment and thanks you for being a part of their life.
This was beautiful and powerful to read and I’m so very happy I stopped in here today. Visiting from Saturday Sharefest and hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Also: is your blog title taken from the Enya song? One of my favorites and I haven’t heard it in ages. Will listen now 🙂 XOXO
Thank you so much for stopping by, Charlotte. Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you. I appreciate your comment so much. And YES, my blog title is taken from the Enya song–it’s one of my favorite songs in the world! I used to put it on repeat and just listen to it over and over and over and over. Love Anywhere Is. 🙂
It is so nice to hear good things about yourself that maybe you may not realize. Especially when it is so easy to let negativity in. All it takes though is just making yourself feel good, and being as positive as you can. There’s a youtube video of this little girl standing in front of mirror and she is going off saying things like “I love my Mom, I love my sister, I love my hair, I love my home” ect and whenever I start to feel down I do what the little girl did and go through all the things I love and it always makes me feel better about myself.
I love all the pictures of the Spring flowers by the way, so pretty 🙂
I think we all could benefit from that little girl’s activity. I wish I had the guts to do that–maybe I should start a gratitude journal. I’ve been meaning to do that–just never got around to it, though…. funny how I always manage to find something (usually traffic or weather) to complain about!
Loved this post. Hope you are doing well friend xoxo
Thank you, Lindsay. <3 I’m doing well, just busy and tired. Hope you’re doing well, too. 🙂
My fiance and I had a discussion the other day about the difference between being an introvert and being shy. He heard a report on NPR that an introvert does not like being over-stimulated (prefers conversations one-on-one, single-tasking, etc) and someone who is shy struggles in social situations because she thinks everyone is judging her. I always thought I was an introvert, but he pointed out that maybe I am just really shy.
I hope you are doing well and realize how loved you are!
I don’t think I’m shy, but I know I’m an introvert because I need that down time and my me time. It’s so important to me and I feel like I’m being bombarded if I’m too social or if people want too much of me, or if I’m over scheduled.
I also just think I have low self esteem rather than shyness. But that’s an interesting way to put it…. definitely something to look into!
These are beautiful photos of your flowers. Also, I think what you are saying is so true. We often are our worst critics and the negative self-talk we impose on ourselves often does so much harm. I hope that more people see the truth in this post and can take the steps to loving themselves more!
Oh I wish they were my flowers! 🙂 They’re flowers around town or the city or the neighborhood. I can’t grow flowers for anything. I have a negative black thumb! 🙂
Let’s all make a resolution to love ourselves a bit more. *hugs*