Your were born to stand out!
I started reading the book "Out and Back". It was suggested to me by my friend and Yoga student, Kelly. The story is about a professional ultra runner and her journey back after a major injury and near death experience. The book gave me a lot of food for thought! One of the things that really resonated with me is about accepting ones self as you are.
So I started thinking....
Being able to accept yourself and also challenge yourself, as I like to do, can be a bit of a paradox. On one hand there are definitely things in our life that we can’t change/challenge such as our DNA, bone structure, body type or physical limitations. So learning to accept these aspects of ourselves will help us to be happier and appreciate our unique differences. It’s about embracing who we are and not trying to be someone else.
With that said, it’s good to challenge ourselves, our limits, and especially our thoughts with the things that we can control and improve upon, so we can be and do our best.
Therefore, I believe both are important.
FACT- No one is perfect and life isn’t perfect!
It’s up to us to accept our imperfections and learn to appreciate this imperfect journey. When we do so, we can challenge our thinking and beliefs, find change and become the best possible versions of ourselves.
Easier said than done right.... I’m with you. Self acceptance is super difficult.
For example, I struggle with my body. I’m large framed. I will never be super tiny, super lean, or break world record speeds; but loving myself and appreciating my body for all it does for me is something I continue to work on every day. In the past, I wanted to be stronger, leaner, and faster; I compared myself to others and when I didn’t live up to those standards, I was even harder on myself and beat myself up.
Many of us believe that acceptance is a weakness or failure but it’s not. Understanding and accepting who we are (good and bad) doesn’t make us less worthy or valuable, but it does help us appreciate & embrace where we are right now and the life we are living. Our self worth isn’t defined by a number on a scale, how fast we run, how many medals/trophies we’ve earned or how many IG followers we have.
We all are human and have limitations, but by challenging those limiting beliefs and loving ourself we can start to live from a place of abundance and realize that we have a lot to offer this world. It is important for us to focus on the areas of our lives we can change instead of those we cannot!
We were not born to fit it, we were born to stand out!