As we get a bit older, we surround ourselves with people deemed cool. They pressure us to like certain things, dislike certain people or music. We listen to the voices of everyone else while pushing our own down as deep as possible. You sit in a pew on Sunday morning and listen to what a religious leader tells you. Your parents told you this, siblings did this, and your teachers said something entirely different. We’re caught up in this cycle of accepting everyone else’s opinion and distancing our own.
It can be quite a struggle to stay grounded in your own beliefs while being bombarded by a million different others.
QUESTIONS TO REFLECT ON:
We’re going to provide you with a list of things you can do to increase your faith in self. What you will quickly realize from the list is that every single one of them is something that you do to increase spiritual wellness, so you see how it’s all linked.
- Bring your awareness to your thoughts and feelings, not just your actions.
- Listen to what your body is telling you, right now, what signal is your physical body sending you? Try to name them as the signals appear.
- When you doubt yourself, process your feelings, slow everything down and try to connect to the sensations and emotions you’re feeling.
- One bad choice doesn’t mean you can’t trust yourself.
- Give your opinions the same level of respect you do to everyone else’s opinions.
- Be open-minded.
- Reassurance yourself that when it comes to you – you’re the expert.
- If you were on the outside looking in, what advice would you offer?
- Create a list of positive traits and qualities and celebrate them fully!
- Offer yourself the empathy you offer everyone else.
- Practice gratitude.
- Make a list of what you really love about yourself.
QUESTIONS TO REFLECT ON:
Thinking
- Are you actively thinking about understanding yourself ?
- Are you thinking about all the the things that help you accept your yourself?
- Are you thinking about how you can further develop how to accept yourself?
Talk – New Language
- Are you actively expressing the how you feel?
- Do you speak of all the good and positive things that make you feel good and name the things that you like?
- Are you continuously telling yourself and reminding yourself to accept yourself?
Behaviour
- Do you accept your emotions and own up to them fully?
- Do you try and focus on positive behaviours that help you accept yourself?
- Do you continuously learn more about how to accept your feelings and emotions ?
Relationships & Contribution
- Do you acknowledge that by accepting your emotions, you will be able to live your life more authentically?
- Are you willing to make sure that you always try to accept your emotions so that you can express them to your peers better?
