I can remember a time when I was constantly comparing myself to others or even to where I thought I should be at particular times in my life. Everyone makes deadlines, albeit sometimes unrealistic, we still make them. When I was in college I just knew I would have my law degree by 25, meet a fabulous man, get married, buy a nice house, and have some gorgeous kids! NONE of these deadlines have been met! LOL! My wise grandmother used to say, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." I may not have met those deadlines, but my life has been a wonderful, wild rollercoaster of a ride. I wouldn't change anything that I have gone through, because each trial has taught me so much about myself and I've come to realize what a strong woman I have become.
Growing up and up into my twenties I had huge self-esteem problems. Now I grew up in a loving home, my parents are still together and they affirmed me constantly on how beautiful and smart I was. But for some reason I thought I wasn’t worth much, because I didn’t look a certain way or have certain people or things in my life. I compared myself to others and I always found myself lacking. I used the way people treated me as a measurement of how I should treat myself. It wasn’t until I hit rock bottom and realized that this way of thinking had caused me to go through some tough times that could have been avoided if I had known what I deserved and demanded it.
These past few months since my birthday this year have easily been the happiest of my adult life. I have accepted the notion that you cannot be happy at your destination, if you can’t be happy on the journey, as my way of life. Every day I wake up thankful and grateful just for another day, another chance to get it right. You can ALWAYS find a reason not to be happy, but why would you want to when being happy is so much more fun than being sad. When you truly realize your self-worth and see how wonderfully made you are, I promise you won’t be able to stop smiling!
Let me share a few things I picked up on my journey back to loving myself:
Never allow anyone or anything to diminish you and your dreams.
Never sacrifice who you are just because someone has a problem with it.
What God has for you, is for YOU. No one has the ability to stop you, but YOU!
You are where you are, at the time that you are for a reason. Don’t waste it by wishing to be somewhere else.
You’re never in control of what they give you, but you’re ALWAYS in control of what you accept.
Know your worth. Know when you have had enough. And move on from the people who keep ruining your happiness!
Always remember to BGTY first, then everyone else. You can't love anyone truly if you don't love yourself!
