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This is a course in self-love.
In this course we want to examine how we see ourselves. What story do we tell ourselves about ourselves? Usually, that story is not that flattering. We may be very critical of ourselves:
- how we are failing
- how we are not good enough
- how we suck
Often, we are not aware of that inner dialogue. That narrative has always been there. We see ourselves in certain ways and it has a profound effect on how we feel about ourselves. It influences:
- the actions we take
- our procrastination
- running to distractions and away from discomfort
- not believing in ourselves
- not doing the work we want to do
- not making relational connections we want
- not feeling good about ourselves
This has real, true consequence on our lives and our happiness.
The first thing we need to do is just see how we see ourselves. There is no right way to do this.
- Notice the things you tell yourself about yourself. You could even start with looking in the mirror. What do you see? What do you say to yourself? What do you say to other people about yourself? People don’t like to hear negative things about you when you are taking about yourself. You will see that reflected back to you when you speak with them. tart to watch that.
- Listen to your own inner dialogue. What story do you have about yourself right now as you are watching this video? What things are you saying? Are there any criticisms? Do you say anything unflattering about yourself? Anything you do not like about yourself?
- Sit for a few minutes and listen to what you say about yourself. Think about your day or the past week of your life. Are there things you don’t like about yourself? Where there any incidents, social encounters, procrastination, or running to your old vices that makes you feel really bad about yourself? Journal and reflect about this.
The idea is to start to become aware of the stories we are telling ourselves. We do tell ourselves ugly stories and it is going on all the time. Reflect on it for a couple minutes each day. It may not be pleasant, but we will start to work with it.
We have a supportive community on Slack where we can share our experiences and reflect on them together. What stories are you telling yourself about yourself? What criticisms do you often have about yourself?