Has someone ever said something cruel to you, something that seared itself into your brain, something that you have carried with you ever since that moment?
"You can't play with us."
"You'll never make it."
"You're embarassing."
These words ring in our ears for years, because we aren't just human beings made of flesh and bone. We are human beings who are made of words, shaped by what is said to us both by other people and by ourselves.
Through your words, you hold an unbelievable power to help create human beings who feel free, loved, and worthy — and this is a power you can use for yourself, too.
Take care,
Think about the last time that you complimented someone and what happened to them physically. Their eyes lit up, their face broke into a shining smile, they stood stronger and taller, and they were filled with a new, palpable form of energy.
Now, think about the last time that you saw someone being hurt by another's words. Their eyes go flat, their face falls, and they shrink into themselves. You can see the ways in which they have been crushed.
When you speak to yourself, you aren't able to see these physical reactions to kindness or to cruelty—but, rest assured, they are happening within you. Bit by bit, you might be diminishing yourself without even knowing it.
It serves absolutely no one to have you be diminished. It's your expanded self that will bring you joy and well-being, that will be capable of creating strong relationships with others, that will be able to do the most good in the world.
Here are five New Happy affirmations you can start to use with yourself:
I have so much to share with the world.
I do not need to do more and more.
I deserve love and compassion.
I am here to be my biggest self.
I am enough, exactly as I am.