How to Embrace Yourself

“I am in Love with Love”

“and Love is in love with me”

“My body is in Love with the soul”

“and the soul is in Love with my body”

“I opened my arms to Love”

“and Love embraced me like a lover”

-Rumi- Persian Poet (1207 –1273)

Embracing who you are can be scary, but the benefits of doing so far outweigh the consequences of hiding your truest self. Living authentically requires a certain degree of vulnerability; both of which take an immense amount of courage. Here are six ways you can begin cultivating your truth and embracing who you are.

It is time to Embrace Yourself, and open your heart to listen your inner whisper, to hear your soul love song and making love with your body and heal your wounds through love.

• Work out where you shine.

We are all born with wonderful strengths that, if used on a daily basis, can help you find your true calling.

Give yourself the time and space to reflect and then begin to develop a self-awareness and understanding of situations where you feel completely content and comfortable.

These are the moments when you are in flow, when life feels easy as you start doing the stuff that you were born to do.

By bringing more of these moments into your life, your confidence in your abilities will flourish and your insecurities over time will fade.

Remember that Happiness is a choice.

• Let go of what others think of you & direct your attention inward

You will never be able to please everyone. In fact, you should never aim to please anyone. We often bend to fit the molds and roles others have set for us.

Sometimes we act differently depending on who we are with. This betrayal of the self moves us away from our true identity and towards a faulty persona; leaving us questioning who we really are at the core.

Let go of other people’s expectations and begin focusing on what you want, how you wish to be perceived, and what is going to make you happy.

• Listen to your body and give it what it needs.

I truly believe we all need to listen to our bodies more. If you start your day feeling exhausted and drained, then think about what that means.

You are only human, so give yourself a break. If you feel like resting, then rest. If you crave time and space by yourself, then don’t feel guilty about turning down an invitation to go out with friends.

Nurture your mind, body, and spirit in whatever way it craves, and your strength will surely grow.

Try Body scan meditation which is purported to help expand mind/body awareness.

• Forgive yourself.

Past regrets can prevent us from practicing self-acceptance. Forgive yourself, and move on.

“Whether it’s about something you’ve done or a personality quirk that resulted in a social faux pas, it’s important to learn from the mistake, make efforts to grow, and accept that you can’t change the past,” according to Ryan Howes, Ph.D, a psychologist in Pasadena, California.

When the tinges of remorse resurface, remember these words, he said: “I made the best decision with information I had at the time.”

“The behavior or decision might not seem correct in hindsight, but at the time it seemed like the best choice,” Howes added.

• Shift your self-talk

Recognize that the negative voice in your head is not you. Stop identifying with it and begin affirming the parts of you that you do like.

Many people equate their inner critic with a voice of reason. They think their inner critic is simply speaking the truth. But if you wouldn’t say it to a loved one, it’s not honesty or sincerity. It’s unwarranted — and harsh — judgment.

To quiet your inner critic, Joyce Marter, LCPC and a psychotherapist, suggested choosing a realistic mantra. “I believe in the power of mantra and encourage clients to select a mantra that is normalizing, calming and encouraging during times when the inner critic rears its ugly head,” she said. For example, you could use: “I am only human, I am doing the best that I can and that is all I can do,” she said.

As Marter said, “Our mistakes and our imperfections are not bad or wrong or failures–they are the fingerprints of humanity and opportunities for learning, healing and growth.”

• Do things that scare you

The search for our authentic identity is a long and changing journey. As human beings, we are programmed to evolve.

Who you are today is not who you were yesterday, or who you will be tomorrow.

Change is scary. Embrace it.

Every time we look fear in the face and challenge ourselves, we are expanding and learning valuable life lessons. The things that scare us the most are typically the things that we need to do the most; and the things that will provide us with the most amount of growth. Be open to change and do something that scares you every day.