Warm Thought on a Cold Day

It is hard to take pleasure in life when you don't care for yourself. People who haven't learned to accept and get along with themselves tend to have more difficulty accepting and getting along with others. I personally had a hard time getting along with people, until I finally realized how my difficulty with other people was rooted in my difficulty with myself.

The produce of life comes from the root within us. If you are rooted in humiliation, guilt, inferiority, rejection, lack of love and acceptance; the fruit of your relationships will suffer. However, once you are exposed to unconditional love and begin to accept yourself and others, these new roots will produce good fruit, and your relationship will flourish.

Never say or think negative things about yourself, such as, "I never do anything right." "I'll never change." "I'm ugly." "I look terrible." "I'm dumb." "Who could ever love me?" By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned, as we think in our mind, so we are. The way we think about ourselves reveal how we feel about ourselves.

Talk good things about yourself in line with what the word says about you. I like starting the day making good declaration of my guilt. You can do this while you're driving to work or cleaning house. Never compare yourself with other people. Variety is the spice of life or we wouldn't have been all different even down to our fingerprints. You'll never succeed at being yourself if you're trying to be like someone else. Other people can be a good example to you, but photocopying even their good traits will look different through your individual personality.

Zoom in on your potential instead of your limitations. Refuse to concentrate on the supposed limitation and decide to concentrate on your potential. Hit upon things you like to do that you do well, and do it over and over. If you spend your time doing things you're not good at, it will frustrate you and cause you to feel defeated and ineffective.

Dare to be different and deal with disapproval. Be a God-pleaser, not a man-pleaser. If you dare to be different, you'll have to expect some criticism. Going along with the crowd when we know in our heart we must be going in a different direction is one reason we don't succeed at being ourselves. You won't like yourself very much if you go against your own convictions.

Don't let the way another person treats you determine your worth. Keep your flaws in perspective. People with a high level of confidence have just as many weaknesses as people without confidence, but they concentrate on their strengths, not their flaws or weaknesses.

To finish, let me remind you of my opening declaration: It is tough to take pleasure in life, when you don't like yourself. When you learn to succeed at being yourself, you will be on your way to enjoy life fully.

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