Learn To Love And Accept Yourself
Everyday we have a lot of distractions and pressures on how we have to BE and carry ourselves. Lots of us today are tempted to imitate somebody we think is superior or somebody whom our peers, loved ones, friends would like to appreciate and associate with. Many times in order to improve our sense of worth, we attempt at becoming someone we can never really become.
Many of us really don't care if the brilliant sculptor or painter or carrom board player or singer in us ever comes out, but the contrary; try to suppress our positive, creative, natural self and settle for being someone else for satisfying our milieu which includes our peers, parents, spouse, loved ones, and friends.
We do seem to get some sense of accomplishment and happiness through this attempt, but more often, in the long run, it leaves us frustrated and cocooned.
Why do we want to put up a facade, sometimes? Is it because we want to be respected and held in esteem? How can we do it without marring our own talents and identity?
Being ourselves amidst today's pressures is the challenge of the era. How then can we be ourselves?
A south Indian philosopher said, "Expose yourself to the world as you are for therein lies the greatest feat of courage you can ever achieve".
We should not be afraid of exposing our weaknesses, faults, temptations, and failures but make it a learning experience. Exposing them doesn't really make us weak or contemptible, but makes us strong and learned.
Someone said, "Anything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger".
The greatest growth in a person's life occurs only when living the person he or she actually IS. The growth may or may not be easily visible to the world but they who happily practice being themselves will certainly realize their worth increasing.
Swami Vivekananda said, "Fear is Death, Courage is Life". Alexander The Great expressed his desire to have his hands kept out of his coffin so that people might see the naked truth that empty handed we come and nothing we take back with us. Hence, what is the better way to live in this world than to BE OURSELVES?
Let us remind ourselves that great people and achievers are respected more for their grit and will to conquer and be themselves, their determination to love their make up, their confidence to carry themselves courageously, than for their achievements and accomplishments.
A person whose personal sense of worth does not depend on what another's opinion is, is the one who has conquered his/her self and is being himself or herself.
Let us first of all start liking ourselves for the way we mentally, physically and emotionally are. Only if we like ourselves will the world like us. Then we can make constructive edifications of our character.
Let us bear in mind what the Bible says, "One who controls his mind is superior to one who captures a city".
Copyright © 2009 Sam Vijay Kumar
Today as I was thinking how many turns and twists my life has taken, I realized one thing that is important to me and to everyone - that is to be ourselves. I also realized that the greatest growths thatI have had in the past were all when I was myself. I suddenly realized that being ourselves is the one of the greatest self-help we can do. I wanted to share these strings of thoughts with others aroundthe globe.