- Be Present With Yourself and Your Uncomfortable
The past no longer exists, the future is not here yet, so all we really should be experiencing is the present moment. This very moment as you sit where you are and read this. We spend too much of our time as human beings living in the past. As women, we spend a lot of time regretting a lot of our past instead of learning from it. That is where the uncomfortable feelings come from. We often think that if we stay present we will be uncomfortable but that is a myth. The uncomfortable feelings come from the lack of being able to change the past or control the future. We spend too much time worrying about a future that we have no control over. I often ask my clients “Do you have a crystal ball?” I used to wish that I did, but now I just try to enjoy and experience the present. It allows me to be self-aware and aware of others. Do I think about the past? Of course, I do, but I try not to stay there. It is okay to think about where you have been to see where you are going, just as long as you experience the journey and stop apologizing for enjoying it.
- Stop Apologizing For Being
I was at a wonderful women’s group not too long ago. The group meets at an Italian restaurant and there is a set menu, we don’t know what the meal will be until we get to the meeting. That day the meal happened to be crab cakes on a bed of mixed greens, which was not a crab cake it was more of a salmon cake, but that’s neither here nor there. There were about three women who were not aware of this and asked that their meal be modified to grilled chicken on top of the bed of greens. The owner, who happened to be male, seemed annoyed and made a passive aggressive comment that the meals had already been prepared but he would inform the chef of the change. Two of the women did not seem to care but one of the oldest women at the table kept apologizing and asking him to just give her salad. The other women simply did not like crab, the older woman who kept apologizing actually was allergic to shell fish. I had to say to her “stop apologizing, you are not just asking for a change because it is something you don’t like, you can actually die of you eat it.” This kind of snapped her out of her apology state and she was then able to stop apologizing. We as women are raised and socialized to apologize for all that we do. We need to be proud of who we are, own our decisions and choices, even if they seem or feel selfish. This is the way towards learning to truly love and honor yourself for the wonderful person you are and for all of the great things you do.
- Love Yourself No Matter What Others Think Of You
I am happy to say that I have learned to love myself, all of me. Don’t get me wrong I am still a work in progress but I am in a much better place than I was 10 even 5 years ago. I love all of me, good bad and indifferent. I love my good parts, my not so good parts and even the parts that make stupid choices and decisions at times. In our human form we are fallible, the key is to know this be aware and present, commit to improving by being kind to yourself and to others. But not too kind! As women, we tend to always put others needs before our own, stop! It is okay to take care of yourself first. In fact, if you take care of yourself, you will be stronger and healthier to take care of others in a healthy boundary filled way. Where you are teaching them to take care of themselves, and in turn not depend on you as much. Let’s be the teachers we are meant to be. Also, stop caring about what other people think about you. Do they pay your bills? Do they live your life? Do they help you make important decisions? The answer is NO! People are always going to judge, well, miserable people will always judge. Why give them your power? Haters are going to hate, so stop caring about people who have no bearing on your day to day life. Caring too much about what others think turns us into our own worst enemy, especially when it comes to loving our bodies.
- Love Your Body No Matter What It Looks Like
Guess what? I can actually say that I love my body. Am I satisfied with my body, I would be lying if I said yes, but I have learned to love the bumps, lumps and stretch marks that make me a real woman. If you are blessed with great genes and don’t have any of these things I am not saying you are not a real woman, I am saying you are lucky and I stopped hating you because I love myself. It took a very long time for me to accept my body and I am happy that I am here. It has helped my health journey become fun and not tedious. I enjoy working out and don’t beat myself up when I don’t make healthy food choices. I have learned to eliminate the negative reel that runs in my head when I look in the mirror. Try it, it feels amazing. It helps develop your self-esteem and self-respect. Respecting your choices and your body, will help you respect yourself.
- Respect Yourself So That Others Will Respect You
Respecting yourself goes hand in hand with loving yourself and loving your body. Respecting yourself is and action and an energetic one at that. The way you carry yourself, the way you talk about yourself and most importantly the way your energetic light shines to the world, will personify the respect you have for yourself.
- Demand Respect From Others
I’m not saying act like a Bitch, but if you have to in order to get respect from others, go for it! If you let others treat you like you don’t matter, then you will feel like you don’t matter. People deserve chances, but how many chances do they deserve? Will you give them so many chances that you lose your self-worth and most importantly your self-respect? You must think about how much is too much? Everyone’s limit is different, but do not allow yourself to be so mistreated that the anger you should feel for the person mistreating you is now directed to you. Show others how they should treat you by not allowing them to do things to you that they would not want done to them.
Jessica Alejandro, LMFT
http://www.4WholeHeartHealing.com
Whole Hearted 