It's tough to enjoy life when you
don't like yourself. People who haven't learned to accept and get along with
themselves tend to have more difficulty accepting and getting along with
others. Yet, the Bible repeatedly tells us to "love your neighbor as
yourself." I personally spent years having a hard time getting along with
people, until I finally realized through the Word of God how my difficulty with
other people was actually "rooted" in my difficulties with myself.
The Bible says a good tree will
bear good fruit, and a rotten tree will bear rotten fruit. Likewise, the
"fruit" of our lives comes from the "root" within us. If
you're rooted in shame, guilt, inferiority, rejection, lack of love and
acceptance, etc., the fruit of your relationships will suffer. However, once
you have a revelation of God's unconditional love for you and begin to accept
yourself and others, eventually these new roots will produce good fruit, and
your relationships will thrive.
Here are a few tips I believe
will help you succeed at being yourself.
1.
Never say or think negative things about
yourself, such as, "I never do anything right." "I'll never
change." "I'm ugly." "I look terrible." "I'm
dumb." "Who could ever love me?" Matthew 12:37 says, "...by your words
you will be justified..., and by your words you will be condemned…." Proverbs 23:7 says, "…as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he." In other words, the way we talk and think
about ourselves reveals how we feel about ourselves.
2.
Speak good things about yourself (as private
confessions) in line with what the Word says about you. For example: "I am
the righteousness of God in Christ." "I am made acceptable in the
Beloved." "God created me and formed me with His own hands, and God
doesn't make mistakes." I like starting the day making good confessions.
Perhaps you can do this while you're driving to work or cleaning house. I also
encourage you to look in the mirror and say out loud, "God loves and
accepts you, and so do I." You may even try hugging yourself. This is
beneficial to people who have lacked love and acceptance in their lives.
3.
Never compare yourself with other people. God
must love variety or He wouldn't have created us all differently - even down to
our fingerprints. You'll never succeed at being yourself if you're trying to be
like someone else. Other people can be a good example to you, but duplicating
even their good traits will manifest differently through your individual
personality.
4.
Focus on your potential instead of your
limitations. Actress Helen Hayes was told early in her career that if she were
four inches taller she'd be the greatest actress of her time. Her coaches tried
various methods of stretching her, but nothing increased her height. She
refused to concentrate on the supposed limitation of being five feet tall and
decided to concentrate on her potential. As a result, she was eventually cast
as Mary, Queen of Scotland - one of the tallest queens who ever lived.
5.
Find something you like to do that you do well,
and do it over and over. If you spend your time doing things you're not good
at, it'll frustrate you and cause you to feel defeated and unsuccessful.
6.
Have the courage to be different and deal with
criticism. Be a God-pleaser, not a man-pleaser (see Galatians 1:10). If you
dare to be different, you'll have to expect some criticism. Going along with
the crowd-when you know in your heart God's leading you a different way - is
one reason people don't succeed at being themselves. You won't like yourself
very much if you go against your own convictions.
7.
Don't let the way another person treats you
determine your worth.
8.
Keep your flaws in perspective. People with a
high level of confidence have just as many weaknesses as people without
confidence, but they concentrate on their strengths - not their flaws or
weaknesses.
In conclusion, let me remind you
of my opening statement: It's tough to enjoy life when you don't like yourself.
When you learn to succeed at being yourself, you'll be well on your way to
enjoying life more fully.
Joyce Meyer
Price: $16.99
Sale! $11.49