Self-growth is not easy. Sometimes, we realize things about ourselves that we need to change in order to be the best version of ourselves.
We all have negative habits, and sometimes we don’t see that they’re negative until they cause harm to ourselves or others. When that happens, we realize we need to make a change. Sometimes it’s small, sometimes it’s not.
Either way, whenever I realize my habits are toxic, I have a tendency to obsess over the past and the mistakes I’ve made. I had one such realization this week, on my birthday no less, and I spent the majority of that day and several following days beating myself up over my mistakes.
Even after I take steps toward bettering myself and altering my habits, I get so caught up in feeling bad about the past that I can’t focus on the future. My partner and I were talking about this, and being the supportive, caring and insightful person he is, he reminded me that I need to just let the past go. I can make all these changes to try to be better, but I won’t actually FEEL better until I let the past be the past.
That’s the whole point of trying to better ourselves, isn’t it? We make mistakes, we learn, we grow, and we love ourselves more for it. If we miss that self-love piece of the puzzle, we’re creating an incomplete picture.
Forgive yourself for mistakes you’ve made in the past. Let yourself move on. Let yourself grow and learn from what has happened. Don’t keep punishing yourself.
Stay safe. Stay healthy.
Xo,
Kayla W