Be gentle with yourself

 Often, we are gentle with other people, with our actions, words, and thoughts; we find ourselves extending a helping hand and comforting them, and pouring into them. However,  to us, we become dictators, we expect perfectionism, and we become our own enemies.

I found myself spending so many hours revisiting each and every word I uttered, every reaction and response to criticize myself, and often thinking that that is probably how the other person is feeling. Sometimes we think that if we are harsh to ourselves or if we punish ourselves first, it will show how sorry we are. It is incredibly painful that we inflict ourselves with pain, thinking that we are bettering ourselves 

I recently started reading about why older people often get all diseases. Aging is a risk factor on its own; however, we must realise that our lifestyle plays a huge role in our overall health. How we treat ourselves forms part of our lifestyles. How we react to our mistakes, how we let other people treat us, what we internalize, and what we choose to disregard may be more lethal than we think. 

Breaking yourself down won't make you more accountable. Comparing yourself won't make you less of a powerhouse that you are, nor will it make you greater than the other person. You do not need to act out of character and don't need to kill yourself to prove a point. As long as you breathe, you will make mistakes, and with those mistakes you will learn, and you will grow, and you will flourish.

Be gentle with yourself and give yourself the same grace, and pour into yourself as much as you pour into others