Dear readers,
A theme I always work around is Learning to Treat Ourselves Better. I have written about this in previous posts, so there will be some repetition, but it encompasses so much that it is worth exploring again. How do you understand this concept for yourself?
It directly relates to the relationship we have with ourselves, which is the longest long-term relationship we will ever have, “’till death do us part”, so to say.
Think of the relationship you have with yourself as living with a roommate your entire life long, only, you are the roommate, so how do you live with yourself?
How do you treat yourself?
Let us briefly revise the word “treat”, which can either mean a tasty treat like a cupcake or slice of cake, or it can relate to your behaviour, how you treat someone else, which can range from loving, caring, hurtful, and so on.
Most of us behave in strange ways towards ourselves, we often cut ourselves short and belittle ourselves. We don’t take proper care of our health or our bodies. We often think we are less than others and others are better. We often feel that we don’t have a place or belong anywhere, that we are unacceptable as human beings and just not lovable.
We often keep quiet because we don’t know how to express ourselves. We often ignore our feelings because it’s scary and we just keep pushing ahead. We often lurk in the background of our lives because if anyone sees the real us then we will be wrong, judged, or criticized and we then treat ourselves like lowly intruders in our own lives – can you relate to any of these, or can you think of any in your own life?
Is this how we behave towards ourselves? Maybe we can learn to treat ourselves just a little bit better by talking to ourselves in more supportive ways and thinking better about ourselves, that we have a place in this world and are allowed to express who we are, even if others don’t like it.
We can learn to behave in better ways towards ourselves, we can learn to like who we are, and we can learn a better relationship with ourselves.
Learning is the operative word here. If we truly desire change, and we truly value our well-being, we will learn new ways of being.
So I want to ask you a question, how do you treat yourself?
How can you start to learn a new way to treat yourself that will benefit how you live with yourself every day?