For the longest time, I’ve had low self esteem and I would always tell myself in my head you’re dumb, you’re ugly, nothing that you do is good enough, especially compared to the other people around you. Inevitably you are a failure.
Then I had to ask myself, after years and years of beating myself up, whose voice was I hearing? And I began to name a few and realized, they were not me. I was the one replaying these hateful words and limiting thoughts. We are not born with self definition, it is taught to us. Being is natural, setting boundaries and to know what I am capable of is natural, to reach higher is natural, to learn from our mistakes is natural.
We were living in an illusion based off of other people’s beliefs. And this can go in many ways. Someone can be envious of what they see in you, try to limit you and say you think too highly of yourself. Others can think you aren’t up to their standards so they tell you you’re not good enough because you aren’t what they prefer you to be.
All these things are external and should not be taken internally, they are not our thoughts. We should be able to look at ourselves with pride, with confidence and with the same eyes as we did before. We will change, we will grow but we should not let others dictate to how we will change and grow. That is our decision to make and something that no one can take away from us.
I hope this helps you wherever you are.