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From Self-Neglect to Self-Respect
The Relationship You Have With Yourself What is the relationship you have with yourself?Do you take yourself seriously?Do you keep the promises you make — both big and small? This is something I have personally struggled with. But this year, I decided things would be different. I decided I would be intentional about keeping my word to myself. Recovering From Self-Neglect As a veteran in the game of self-neglect — and someone recovering from mental health struggles — I know this journey will not be easy. To make it attainable, I chose to start small. I looked at the areas where I tend to abandon myself for the sake of…
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Recommitting to the Journey: Learning to Build From the Ground Up
Why I Went Quiet It’s been a while since I last posted, and honestly, I made a lot of excuses for it. There were several reasons, but one of the main ones was that I wasn’t setting a tangible reminder for myself. By the time I realized, the week was already halfway over, and I kept pushing it off until “next Sunday.” There’s something you should know about me: I’ve struggled with inconsistency for a long time. Right now, I’m actively working on changing that. I’ve made a commitment to become the kind of person who shows up for the promises I make to myself. In the past, I would…
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Choosing My Hard: Building Strength Through Resistance
Pushing Against Resistance Today, everything feels a little like lifting weights—pushing against resistance. I’m beginning to accept that this is life, and that this is how I expand my capacity. For so long, I watched people do things that seemed impossible for me—tasks that looked tedious or unenjoyable. I used to wonder, How do they do that? What drives them? I thought they must have a natural motivation or discipline that I simply didn’t possess. But now, I wonder if they, too, felt the same internal resistance I feel whenever I try to step outside my comfort zone. Becoming the Author of My Life I’ve taken on a new belief:…
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Learning to Stop Shrinking Myself
A Lifetime of Playing Small I’ve come to realize that I’ve been shrinking myself ever since I was a child. For one reason or another—usually out of fear—I’ve avoided things that made me uncomfortable. Whenever something stirred anxiety or agitation, I would retreat into what felt safe and familiar. Now, it’s clear to me that if I continue to live this way, I’ll never reach my full potential. I’ll remain at the mercy of life’s tides, drifting wherever they take me. Living Inside a Tiny Comfort Zone My comfort zone has always been small—and while I’ve made efforts to expand it, it still feels limited. If something doesn’t come easily…
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Showing Up, Even When I Don’t Feel Like It.
The Power of Small Steps on Heavy Days When Sadness Knocks It’s that time of the month, and I’ve spent most of my day in bed. Still, I’ve taken teeny-tiny steps toward my goals. Now I’m taking another—writing this post—while feeling sad, lonely, and worried about my future. It’s not easy. But I believe that effort matters. Showing up for myself, even if it feels like my “worst,” is still better than doing nothing at all. The Doubt That Follows Me A part of me whispers that none of this matters—that nothing I do will ever become successful. And yet, another part of me believes that every small step counts.…
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Why I’m Learning to Do Hard Things(Even When I Want To Quit)
For years I chose the easy way out. Now I’m discovering that growth only happens when I step into discomfort. Small Dreams, Simple Desires I was never the type of person who had big dreams. Mine were always small, reachable desires that I thought would make me happy. When I was about 14, I remember wishing I could just make $10 per hour. At the time, that seemed like what adults made—enough to pay rent, buy nice clothes, and live a simple, normal life. I wasn’t thinking about owning a home, traveling, or starting a family. My idea of happiness was tied to doing just enough to get by. Choosing…
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Perfectionism and Self-Sabotage
Perfectionism: What It Is and How It Affects Your Life I used to hear people mention perfectionism as their “weakness” in job interviews because it secretly made them look good in the eyes of interviewers. I even used it myself—long before I realized that I genuinely struggled with it. On the surface, perfectionism can look like a positive trait. After all, what’s wrong with wanting your work to be excellent before putting it out into the world? But beneath the surface, it can be much more sinister, quietly holding us back from living fully. In many ways, perfectionism leads to incomplete projects, abandoned dreams, and a life of “almosts.” So…