BMJ: Day 61 – Stop Punishing Myself

If you happen to be following my Beautiful Me Journal, then you’ll realize I don’t follow the guide in this book perfectly. I tend to skip ahead to things that are relevant to me changing for the better. Today’s guide is one of those that, although I realize, I don’t always put into practice – the idea of not punishing myself. The author’s recommendation is pretty simple:

“Don’t punish yourself”

Obviously, she is referring to those negative feelings and things we tend to say to ourselves, with respect to our health and bodies. She is trying to recommend that we detach the negative connotations that we connect to our goals with the purpose of keeping us positive and encouraged to do what’s best for us. Reading this, brought me to think of a couple of other entries I’ve made where I tend to punish myself. One entry addresses the affliction I’ve adopted called “The Shoulds” and the other is the negative things I say to myself – or the alter ego I’ve named Hilda.

Either of those things can destroy the positive I’m trying to build within myself.  I certainly won’t lie, I’m still far off from feeling the contentment and confidence I once had with myself, but I am also feeling more positive than I have in a long time. I still have some major challenges I’m facing, but there is something about dealing with all of this that has me feeling capable, as long as I stop punishing myself for being human.