YOU ARE WHOLE
Practice
Let it Go
Other people’s comments and opinions of you stay stuck in your mind much longer than they need to. You can’t just un-hear a negative comment or judgmental opinion, but you can decide to just let it go. You only need to worry about what you think about yourself and only change what you decide to. There may be many people in your life that you want to please, but the first and most important person should always be yourself.
*Beginner* Practice letting go of external criticism by internally choosing to let it bounce or slide right off of you. Create an image or phrase in your mind that you can use when someone starts to criticize. You can use inspiration from the old saying, “I’m rubber you’re glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you!”. What other people say -good or bad- only affects you if you allow it to. Choose to put less emphasis on the opinions of others and focus more on what you think of yourself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Advanced* Another way to practice letting go is by not asking for others opinion’s of you in the first place. This might be difficult to avoid entirely, but for a week *beginner* or a month *advanced*, whether it’s at work, school, home, or with friends, choose to make statements about yourself. For instance, instead of asking your friends if they like your new haircut, tell them how confident the new style makes you feel. Try to actively notice when you’re seeking for and putting what others think of you above what you think of you.
At the end of the day you always have yourself, so no matter what happened you have to find a way to balance the external and internal judgments. Whether it was the best, worst, or just another average day, you can choose how it impacts you and affects tomorrow. Choose to see your strengths and use your self-love to outweigh the negative criticism.
