If you grew up with constant harsh punishments, you may have grown up so focused on the eyes of others seeing you, that you missed the opportunity to develop seeing the world through your own eyes.
You may have grown so used to seeing yourself and your actions and consequences through the eyes of people who might criticize you, withhold love, dismiss, mock, shame or punish you, that it still keeps you hypervigilant and reluctant to share yourself by taking chances to be who you want to be in the world.
We cannot control how others see us, but it is a relief to let go of that burden of thinking we can control how others see us by modifying our own behavior to be some foolproof version of ourselves that we imagine might be better received.
Instead we can reposition our attention back inside our bodies and trust that what we see through our own perspective and our own judgment is legitimate. And we can also make a promise to ourselves that from now on, we are going to see ourselves through the lens of self-compassion, self-appreciation, wisdom and good humor.
It is possible to own the full-package deal of who we are, and be proud of what we’ve got to offer. No one needs to be perfect—just as authentic as we can be and willing to grow.
-JLK
