Kindness Begins With You
You know that age old saying, “Treat others the way you want to be treated”?
Yes, we should be treating others with the same respect we intend on treating ourselves with, but sit with this for a second…how many times have you held a conversation with yourself or looked in the mirror and talked poorly about yourself?
I think so often we are conscious of how we talk to others that we forget to speak to ourselves with the same kindness.
Take time to notice when a friend or family member says something negative about themselves.
They may not realize what they are doing, but the more and more they say these words, the more it becomes natural to them and in doing so the more they convince themselves they are not good enough, not deserving enough, the list goes on etc.
Next, notice who is in the room. Maybe it’s just you, but maybe it’s a young adult, child, or friend who now hears that it is okay to say these hurtful words about ourselves.
The words you say to yourself have meaning to you, and whether or not you know it, they hold meaning to those around you.
Have you ever heard of those kindness chains where someone pays a gift forward?
How about we do that for ourselves!
How about we hold ourselves accountable for using kind words so that others can see it’s okay to hold ourselves to a high standard.
It’s okay to think of ourselves as intelligent, hard working or beautiful.
This is how you stop doubting yourself and start gaining that inner self confidence. Because when you know you got this, it doesn’t matter what others think of you, it matters what you think of you!
I could go on and on about this subject because it fires me up so much so. It hurts to see the people I love be so kind and caring towards others, but then forget to show themselves the same kindness.
To use all of their amazing gifts on making sure everyone else is taken care of , but neglecting to take care of themselves.
This is why self-care exists. This is why personal development exists. To take care of and lead others, we first must take care of ourselves.
So here is my challenge to you:
Write down what you love about yourself. Heck, go ahead and write a love letter to yourself, why not!
On days when you are feeling down, or not good enough, I want you to read that letter to yourself to remind you how loved and amazing you are.
I know this sounds super strange, and we are our own worst critics, but I want you to sit with that awkwardness and embrace all that you are, the weird, unique, best version of you.
Once you reclaim who you are and know exactly how amazing you are, there is no doubt in my mind that everyone else will see that radiance shining through you.
You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be proud of who you are.
Now go shine that light on you so that you can shine more brightly on others too.
This is awesome! Kindness doesn’t have to be a huge act, just something simple to show someone else you care. Thanks for writing it!
I always say the first step to kindness is a simple thank you and a friendly smile!
I absolutely love this! I am trying to raise my boys to be kind to everyone. It is so easy to find negative things all around us. Why not be the positive in someone’s life. Great share.
Thanks so much! I’m glad to see the message resonated with you! We have to start off the message of kindness at a young age so that it can only grow more as we get older!
This makes me realize that too often we aren’t kind to ourselves. Positive thinking goes a long way and can improve our health in ways we never imagined. Being kind to our self is a huge step in the process of self-love, I especially appreciate the challenge you pose to us writing a self-love letter. Amazing read!
Thanks so much! I hope you take the time to try the challenge. Let me know how it works for you. It’s so easy to get caught up in our own negativity and it’s important to recognize what is and isn’t healthy.
Hi it’s Brenda from RubyHemMinistries.com I think it’s especially important to be kind right now. You haven’t walked a mile in the other person’s shoes so you don’t know what they’ve been through. It isn’t difficult to give them a little kindness.
Hi Brenda! I couldn’t agree more! Now more than ever I think we need to go above and beyond for each other and ourselves 🙂
I love this and I will be doing the challenge today. I can be my worse critic which holds me back from so much. Amazing post.
Yay! I can’t wait to hear how it goes for you!
Nice post. I agree we need to be are of both our self talk and what we say to others. Words can “land” on someone and define them for life in either a positive or negative way.
Yes! It’s so important when we can recognize what voices are negative as opposed to positive!
I tell my girls over and over to be kind to each other, but maybe I need to start telling them to be kind to themselves. Start young so maybe it’s more ingrained into their everyday lives! Thank you for the beautiful reminder!
Yes! It’s never too early to teach! I think it’s such a powerful tool and especially for young girls. Glad it resonated with you!
Such a great reminder! I’ve also used a post-it note in some places I know I will see every day. I am DEFINITELY much more critical of myself than others. I think we often underestimate the power of kindness, but truly it makes the world a better place. More people should be kind. Thank you for sharing!
I absolutely love that idea and I will have to try it out myself! Small daily reminders go a long way.
Unfortunately, kindness can be very hard to find these days.
One thing I have taught my children is that kindness is not just an act, it is who you decide to be – even when no one is looking.
Thank you for the reminder 🙂
That is such a beautiful reminder you are setting for your children! Especially now I think it’s all about showing up in small ways each and every day.
YAS!!! Right on, girl!!! Every Monday, I send out a new email to subscribers with two small (but important) personal development goals for the week. This past week was all about self-care, so reading this blog post was timed perfectly. I never thought about writing a love letter to yourself to read on a rainy day. SUCH a good idea! I look forward to reading more of your posts! Great job!
I am so glad to hear this resonated with you! That’s such a great way to connect with your readers and give them small, but actionable steps to improve themselves! Looking forward to reading your blog as well!
I love this Jenna! A lot of us are unkind to ourselves and don’t even realize it until we take a pause in life and realize…”hey, I’m being unkind to me.” Thanks so much for your candidness and honesty in your writings. God bless!
Thank you SO much Dorothy! Your words are so kind and truly mean the world to me. I hope you have a blessed day 🙂
It is so important to be kind to yourself. And I love the challenge you gave at the end. I will sit down and write that love letter to myself today.
I am so happy to hear this resonated with you! Let me know how writing the letter goes for you.
Like!! Great article post.Really thank you! Really Cool.
Thank you so much! I hope you took away something from it and maybe try the challenge out! I’m doing a fun 30-day kindness challenge soon! If your interested subscribe to my email and I can send you the information. Take care 🙂
I saw a lot of website but I conceive this one contains something extra in it.
Very good blog article. Really thank you! Keep writing. Cristine Chucho Dewey
Thank you so much for your kind words!
I am regular visitor, how are you everybody? This piece of writing posted at this site is in fact nice. Desiree Vachel Consuela
Im thankful for the blog post. Really thank you! Cool. Blakeley Whitby Simson
I needed to thank you for this wonderful read!! I definitely loved every little bit of it. Adeline Sherlock Anagnos
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!
A round of applause for your article. Really thank you! Fantastic. Marge Pietrek Finny
So glad you enjoyed it!
The details talked about within the article are a number of the best out there. Orsola Doug Rogers
That warms my heart, thank you!
Hi there! Someone in my Myspace group shared this site with us so I came to check it out. Babbette Nikos Cailean
Really appreciate you sharing this blog post. Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic. Marielle Orren Jerz
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!