I used to find myself thinking people should be different than they were. I did this for many years, in all areas of my life. Even with people who I felt hurt me, in relationships and out.
But mostly, I did it with myself.⠀⠀
For many years, I believed I should be different than I was. It felt painful being me. I was continually stuck in my head listening to the incessant chatter, battling my inner world.⠀
I beat myself up for not doing enough OR for doing too much. For staying quiet or for speaking up. It was hard to do anything right in my eyes. I was caught in the stories that shaped my existence until I learned how to get out.⠀
The way out was through. For me it took a commitment to my own growth. Getting out became a drive to know myself beyond the mind that had nothing positive to say.⠀⠀
Turns out my mind was FOS and my heart was a safe place to reside. I had to practice staying connected to my heart and not allowing the mind to take over.⠀
I had to learn.⠀⠀
I had to be gentle.
I had to be willing.
The mind is filled with thoughts that can be changed and unbelieved. And when those crappy thoughts no longer win, everything shifts. It takes awareness, patience and trust. Most of all it takes vulnerability to see yourself through the eyes of your soul, through your heart. Not through the filter of the mind.
As you take the steps to build the relationship with yourself that’s based in compassion and love, you begin to bring the heart and mind onto the same team.
For me, that changed everything. I stopped running away from myself and started showing up as my whole self. Dark and Light. Highs and Lows. Soft and Powerful.