15 Apr Happiness (and living) is so much easier if you embrace who you really are!
OK…a bit of self-disclosure here.
This is a topic dear to my heart. It's something on which I've been personally working very hard in recent times; and as a parent, it's something I hope I can pass on to (or teach) my children as effectively as possible.
We are who we are; sure, we can maximise the good bits and manage the bad bits. But we are who we are. If we do make the most of our strenghts and contain our weaknesses then for sure, we'll be happier and enjoy more success in life. But we are (still) who we are.
Accepting this and really understanding this actually makes life so much easier.
Having clarity, for example, about what we really value makes it much simple to make decisions (even, or especially difficult ones). Identifying and then more fully utilising our strengths, for example, allows us to know how we can best approach challenges to get the best results.
Because I've been pondering all this and helping my clients contemplate these issues quite a bit in recent times, I was very pleased to come across this article which I'm now just as pleased to share with you today…
by Luwee Francia
“Who am I?” is the universal question most often asked. It begins in adolescence and persists through life’s developmental stages. Thankfully, the responses differ. Can you imagine if every one had the same answer? It would be like watching The Phantom of the Opera with every actor playing the phantom. When you embrace the uniqueness of who you are, you will uncover your life purpose to begin living your dream
Read on for the oh-so-rewarding results of self-acceptance.
1. You’ll be the expert on who you are.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you had an owner’s manual that shows how YOU tick? Learning about yourself is usually a process of trial and error. You can eliminate the errors by tuning in to how you behave and react in different situations. What triggers defensiveness in you? Can you diffuse irritation and avoid going ballistic? Which activities fuel your enthusiasm? Knowing your behaviors, reactions, strengths, and weaknesses equips you to smoothly navigate work situations and social interactions.
2. You’ll gain a BFF for life—YOU.
A healthy self-relationship develops when you fully embrace yourself, warts and all. In a deep relationship, a woman can sense and will gently touch her partner to calm him down during a heated discussion with someone. A man will protectively put himself between his partner and a menacing stranger. When you are a friend to yourself, you won’t put yourself in situations which cause you anger, fear, or sadness. You acknowledge your weaknesses, but you also work at lessening or converting those weaknesses. Acceptance and effort earns self-respect. You’ll start to appreciate yourself.
3. You’ll treat yourself kindly.
You wear many hats in life. You hold a job, are a friend, a spouse, a parent, caregiver to aging parents, driver, confidant, volunteer, etc. Many people depend on you, but you cannot always deliver. Because you are your own BFF, you will be forgiving of our shortcomings. You’ll take mistakes as lessons for improvement and successes as validation of skills. Both will present opportunities for self-nurturing. Treating yourself to some quiet time alone or celebrating with a fun group will become second nature and guilt-free. You know it is well-deserved…
…keep reading the full & original article HERE