I’m awesome. I don’t mean it in a conceited and underlyingly “rub it in your face” way. I understand the value that I bring to the table and to this world. And I have had enough of feeling ashamed of liking who I am and who I am becoming. I’m putting my foot down, because dammit, I am awesome.
Why are we not inclined to value ourselves?
I can give you a theory. When you read the caption of this blog post and saw a picture of me as the feature image, your thoughts might have been something like, “who does she think she is?” You may have clicked on the post because you believed that it was just a caption to hook you in, that I didn’t actually think of myself as awesome… and then you read the first line. So why are we not inclined to value ourselves? Because everyone else around us thinks that we shouldn’t, no one has the balls to say “I value what I put on the table every day”, because we have been conditioned to believe that we are not worth it and society would reprimand us for trying.
The “who does she think she is?” is what I strive for every post, every picture and every word that I write. Who am I? I am someone who defends basic human rights; who swears like a sailor in my novels; who doesn’t believe in one sole religion, but in spirituality as a general whole; who talks about sex nonstop because we need to normalize it; who understands that I may not be perfect in Joe’s eyes on the corner of the street, but I am perfect in mine because I strive to better myself every day. These are the things that made me realize that I’m awesome, and here is your step-by-step guide to realizing yours.
Appreciate Others
When we take a step back and become an observer in a world of seekers, we start to see the value that each person brings. There are people in this world that are kind, that are intelligent, that inspire you to be a better person, or maybe help you aspire to be a different one. When we really look and pay attention there are many expressions of gratitude that could have been handed out, but the actions went unseen. Appreciate others.
Accept Others
When we learn to appreciate what everyone brings to the table, we begin to understand them on a different level. I am a strong believer that someone’s inner truth, is all about who they are as a person. When someone tells you who they are, acceptance is not an opinion, but a basic human right. When we begin to accept people for the love and connection that they bring to the world, we are letting go of judgment and negative baggage that, believe it or not, holds us down from pushing through our own potential. Accept others.
Express Gratitude
Once you have let go of comparison, because you have learned to appreciate and accept others, you begin to appreciate and accept yourself. This is where you learn what you bring to this world. What you do that is enlightening and inspiring. The parts of you that maybe you thought were flaws, were anything but. Begin to express gratitude to yourself daily, what are you grateful for in general, and what are you grateful for when it comes to yourself. Express gratitude.
Find Joy
When we have been conditioned to feel sad, angry and unaccepted, joy is the last thing on our minds, but remember, joy does not find you, but you must find it. If you sit around expecting to suddenly feel and be happy, you will be waiting for a long time. Happiness and joy are not things that the universe deems you worthy of, it is something that you deem yourself worthy of, meaning you find it.
Be Beautiful
Being beautiful is not about how you look on the outside. Shocking right? I have met people who meet society’s aesthetic beauty standards to a tee, but they still had work to do to be beautiful people. A beautiful person can appreciate, love, connect and express. A beautiful person understands the care that they need to put in themselves, and the care they express to others. A beautiful person is not how they look on the outside, but how they look on the inside. Be beautiful.
Understand your Needs
I was going to name this section “Find a Routine”, but it didn’t seem personal enough. A routine can be easily established but become superficial. When you understand what you need, your routine develops, grows and becomes nourished, that’s different, that’s deep. What do you need in life to find yourself again? That’s a big question. I understand if you feel overwhelmed by it. Start small. When I contemplated this question, I started with, “I need to sleep better”. It is not the grandest need, but it is a basic one that was distracting me from understanding life’s purpose. What came out of it? I began to have more energy, meaning I could exercise more, write more, eat cleaner, and everything started to unwind from there. I know it sounds impossible, but your mind begins to make connections with your body, and that’s the opportunity to listen, to understand what you need.
Be Awesome
Start to let go of the anxieties that stop us from leaving our hole. People who don’t accept you for who you are, those people were learned lessons, but not lifetime rocks. It is a hard truth to learn in life, that there are people who don’t accept you; but remember that you already learned to accept people for who they are, that your judgment does not match the opposing person, again, they are a lesson, but not your rock. So, what is the ultimate step in this guide? Be Yourself to Be Awesome.