It can be hard to accept certain aspects of our lives. Some of those less than shining moments in our history and present can have us overwhelmed with feelings of regret and anger! But the only way to truly move on, enjoy, and thrive in life is to own what has happened and who we are. Whatever mistakes we make are ours.
It’s been said many times that “when you know better, you do better.” But not if we keep ourselves clothed in grief and regret over the mistakes of our past. Own all of those mistakes. Once you own them, recycle them as the practical, timeless, and valuable lessons that they are! Those lessons and experiences don’t define who you are. You don’t have to stay married to old habits.
The sooner we make peace with ourselves for the bad choices (the class we dropped, fear, the bad investment, avoidance, the chance we didn’t take, the debt, that extra 40 pounds, him—you know his name, etc.), the sooner we can free ourselves of the shame and disappointment and be the women that we desire to be.
Sometimes it’s not our mistakes, but our attributes that are hard to accept. A woman may have a beautiful voice. A strong, rich, voice that makes people pay attention to her whenever she speaks. But she often chooses to be silent or speaks in hushed tones because she doesn’t want to be loud or draw attention to herself. Surprisingly, she is often asked to speak publicly. Not only do people love the sound of her voice, but she has a way with words that is very appealing.
Eventually she has to own that she will never sound like a demure kitten. That’s not who she is. Once she accepted the strength and beauty of her voice, she realized it was an asset. Maybe you feel you are too tall, or petite, or athletic or whatever the case may be. But if you look a little harder, you’ll come to find that there is beauty in that attribute and it is what makes you unique. There’s only one you. Own it!
