Level up on self-worth
Imagine watching a cute movie and you’re really into it. And there’s this cringy scene. Halfway through the scene, you notice you’re smiling along with the characters. But it’s is sooooo cringy. You roll your eyes and the smile has been put out. Dissmissed. On a conscious level, it’s completelly understandable. Who even likes cringy scenes, right? On a deeper level though, it connects to how we view ourselves and the world as a result. Maybe we subconsciously feel we don’t deserve the feeling that comes with that smile. Or we remember that shit always hits the fan when we relax. We better be prepared, right? The world is a serious place! In reality, it’s never the cringy scene’s, other people’s or even the world’s fault.
»We don’t want to feel scared, so we compensate.«
Most of us don’t posses the capacity to understand how our subconscious drives our emotions. But by reacting to those burried impulses in the same way over and over again, we build mental habits and beliefs. We don’t want to feel scared, so we compensate. We toughen up. The world then seems like a scary, tough place. Most people think it’s the other way around, that we gain beliefs as we observe the world, but that’s just not the case. It’s only when we soften up, that the world starts to soften around us.
»You’re doing just fine!«
As a creative experiment, try to hold onto those random cringy smiles instead. It doesn’t have to be a movie. Maybe hang on to a smile for a bit longer when you see two birds playing and twirling through the air. Or keep on smiling after you felt you’ve succeeded in something. We can all be more kind to ourselves by ignoring the judgmental element and asking ourselves directly: »Is it wrong for me to smile?«. Hopefully, your answer will be: »No«, because you DO deserve to smile. You DO deserve to be happy. You ARE beautiful. And you ARE trying! You’re a much more loving person than you’d ever admit or show to the world. So admit it to yourself first. You’re doing just fine! When you smile, just for a moment, it feels like the world smiles with you. So don’t deprive yourself of your smiles, you deserve them! You are good enough!