Always Be YOU!

I came across this today and it really struck home for me and got me thinking about myself and my own issues with self-esteem, etc.

This is something I have struggled with my entire life. It wasn't until over the past several months when I was dealing with some issues that I finally was able to take time to reflect on myself and learn to love myself for who I am. During this time I realized that what other people think about me doesn't really matter but what I think about myself will be the driving force for which direction my life goes.  I accepted that the negative feelings I had about myself needed to change.  I realized how much potential I have and that if I were to continue to get down on myself and worry about what other people thought that I would never break down the walls that I had built over the years with my low self-esteem.

I had no self-confidence or self-worth and it was having an extremely negative affect on me, on my relationships and really on all aspects of my life.  Over the past several months I have taken the opportunity to look at myself, look at what I've accomplished and look at how much I have the ability to accomplish on the road that lies ahead. Finally, after 27 years, I have a positive view of myself and I no longer look at my mental illness as something to throw away in a locked closet for no one to see.  I am now able to see in myself what those in my life that matter have always seen and I no longer worry myself with what anyone else thinks of me. It is not ever necessary to say or to do anything in an effort to please or impress any individual; those that matter will love you for you.  

Be proud of yourself, believe in yourself, love yourself and ALWAYS be YOU! 

I am thankful to my family and friends for always building me back up when I was down and I am so thankful to be able to finally see in myself what those that love me have always seen in me!  Your self-esteem is a key factor in your success.  You can’t do great things when you don’t even believe in yourself.

This is a lesson that took me 27 years to learn- I figured I'd share it! It has made a huge difference in all aspects of my life including my plans for the future and my current day to day life. It has made a difference in how I feel about myself everyday of my life and it truly feels great to finally believe in myself! I wouldn't have the strength or the courage to have started "Kissing Stigma Goodbye" and to share my story if I still cared about what others thought about me and if I didn't finally love and believe in myself.  

Self-esteem and self-worth gave me the courage to finally just be ME without caring about what anyone else thinks.  If someone doesn't like me because I have bipolar or I'm Jewish or just because I'm me, etc... well, that's not my problem, that's their problem! As long as I am ME, it doesn't matter what others think! As long as YOU are YOU, it doesn't matter what others think!

Stay tuned, I will write a blog over the next few days about self-esteem, it’s effect on mental health, the effect of mental health concerns on self-esteem, the effect of stigma on self-esteem and ways to deal with low self-esteem. In the meantime, always remember there is no shame in seeking help, therapists are there for a reason! (that is something else that I was not able to realize and accept until recently)

“Don't you dare, for one more second, surround yourself with people who are not aware of the greatness that you are.” -Jo Blackwell-Preston

 Thanks for reading! Until next time…

-Kissing Stigma Goodbye-

(The pink.... well it's my favorite color and it's warm and sunny out and I just switched to my pink summery bag, so I guess I am just in a pink mood- next post will be back to boring white- I guess it's easier on the eyes)