The stories we make up about ourselves

The stories we make up about ourselves, this is a follow-up from the stories we make up about others.

Yesterday I blogged about the stories we make up about others and how they create suffering for ourselves and others.

Well, there are also the stories that we make up about ourselves, and these are the most corrosive and create great suffering within us and for others too.

What we tell ourselves affects greatly our self-worth and when we do not feel worthy, it affects everything in our lives. Worthiness is not a conditional thing, we are born worthy and we die worthy…no matter what, there are no conditions to that.

As I talked about in earlier posts when we a loving to ourselves, when we are kind to ourselves, and when we give these things to ourselves, we can feel worthy. If someone does not love us, see our value or question us that does not change our worth at all. Our soul is ours and no one else’s to judge or question, our worthiness is not open for debate.

However, based on other people’s words and actions we create these stories about ourselves that corrode our self-worth. We tell ourselves these falsehoods about ourselves.

Brene Brown sums this up brilliantly in a section about learning to rise in her great book ‘Dare to Lead’  she says:

The three most dangerous stories we make up are the narratives that diminish our lovability, divinity, and creativity.

The reality check around our lovability: Just because someone isn’t willing or able to love us, it doesn’t mean that we are unlovable.

The reality check around our divinity: No person is ordained to judge our divinity or to write the story of our spiritual worthiness.

The reality check around our creativity: Just because we didn’t measure up to some standard of achievement doesn’t mean that we don’t possess gifts and talents that only we can bring to the world. And just because someone failed to see the value in what we can create or achieve doesn’t change its worth or ours.

We don’t need to tell ourselves any stories, the truth is we are worthy and lovable…no conditions.

We can’t give to others what we don’t give to ourselves

We can’t give to others what we don’t give to ourselves.

If we don’t love ourselves we can’t love others. If we are not kind to ourselves we can’t give it to others. If we have no compassion for ourselves then we can’t be compassionate with others. If we do not show ourselves empathy and understanding then we will not see and understand others.

Understanding is a powerful thing that we all seek and yet we do not start with ourselves. We do not take the time to own or be accountable for our journeys. When we own them we can learn and write a different story. We can then seek to understand others too. All to often we fill in the gaps with ourselves and make up stories and we do e we it’s others too.

Equally, what we give to ourselves, we give to others. If we are angry, fearful, unkind, harsh, judging, shaming, and so on, of ourselves then we will treat others the same. If we are kind, compassionate, loving and understanding with ourselves we will be with others.

Inner peace comes from treating ourselves kindly and outer peace follows.

It all starts with us. The world is what we create from our inner state.