Love yourself
Love yourself
And do it fiercely
Love yourself so much that you feel safe to be yourself
That doesn’t mean you can’t improve
Or you should stop having a shower or cleaning your teeth
It just means Loving yourself
Love where and who you are
And from that place decide what you’d like to change
There’s no need to change if you’re happy AF
If you really really are completely enamored of yourself and life
But if you want to change or improve an area of your life or how you feel
Be sure to love yourself first… even just a bit
Until you learn how to do it properly
Otherwise, that crap feeling you have will follow you wherever you go
However high you climb and whoever’s arm you end up on
Loving yourself and accepting who and where you are is vital for growth
I love myself, I really do
I also really like myself
I like who I am, what I do, and how I go about it
Fuck me it feels good
After years of not-good-enough, depression, booze, chemicals, and countless dramas
It all came down to this
I didn’t really like myself
I didn’t really feel worthy
And so I acted out of this place
My life is so calm now
Of course, curveballs come in and I deal with those as they arrive
But I have a deep calm and a knowing that everything is fine
Nothing is coming my way that I can’t handle so I don’t fret
I just really really really really really enjoy my fucking life
Liking who I am and not being afraid of what others think of me has been an enormous part of it
I’ve had lots of moments to push through
My inner 'scared little girl' still shouts and tant’s occasionally
Basically, anything new that may cause growth
But... I love her too
I know she only wants to feel safe
But staying indoors with the lights on and curtains closed for fear of the ‘bad man’
Does not take away the fear of the bad man
It keeps the fear
It just avoids the possibility of it happening
And ultimately leads to a life indoors
Keeping out of a relationship for fear of getting hurt
Or fear of spiraling into a ‘basket-case'
Is your inner little girl (or boy) running the show
Staying in a job you hate because you’re not sure you could do better
Is your inner little girl (or boy) running the show
She wants to keep you safe
But wouldn’t it be better to not be afraid at all?
Not so long ago my little girl was frightened of posting on Facebook personal or new stuff for all to see
She feared rejection and the inevitable death sentence of being ‘cast from the tribe’
She got that lesson early on
Other little girls ostracise at school and at play… some adults still do
It’s their weapon of choice
But my inner little girl is about 6, maybe 7
She couldn’t and shouldn’t be running my life
Any area of it
So I, me, the adult version, told my inner little girl “I love you, thank you for wanting to keep me safe but I’ve got it from here angel” and posted on FB anyway
At first, she kicked off, wanted to see who had said, or not, said what
So I, me, the adult version posted more and more, stuff I write that I've never let anyone see, then video, imperfect video in fact
I could’ve easily re-recorded but this was important
I recognised her need to be ‘good at things’, needing to be ‘perfect’
“Thank you sweetheart for wanting to keep us safe but we are not re-recording, it is safe to not be perfect”
And on it went until she had zero fear
None
Now she looks forward to our posts and next imperfect video series
Until of course… I'm going to be speaking on stage
My baby girl is sure to be worried and that is fine
I have got her
I have, me, the adult version of me
I still hear her
But I don’t let her drive my bus or run my show
I don’t shout at her, argue with her, or blame/shame her for being 6 maybe 7
I love her, accept her and carry on anyway
She is beautiful, she is an angel, she’s been hurt in the past
She is also my comfort zone and needs to hold my grown-up hand while we stretch out of it
Ask yourself what decisions are you making, or not making because your inner little girl (or boy) is running the show?