Go Easy on Yourself

Thoughts for Tonight

No Need to be Hard on Yourself

I had a very specific plan for today. I wanted to start studying for my French exam that I have later this week. I had plans to meet with two different teachers to go over upcoming final assignments. I needed to do work on one of the aforementioned assignments. However, none of these things happened. I inexplicably crashed today and didn't wake up until 2 pm. I guess my body needed the sleep but I was very frustrated with myself. How could I sleep through the majority of the day, stand up two teachers, and not complete any work? Finals are approaching. This is not the time to relax or take it easy. But, beating myself up over my lost day isn't going to change it. Being hard on myself will on serve to stress me out even more. It won't undo what has already been done. So what's my point? Go easy on yourself. We all make mistakes, miss appointments unintentionally, and don't end up being as productive as we would like to be some days. There is no need to be hard yourself for accidental errors that can't be undone. Beating yourself up will only result in further anxiety and pressure. You cannot change what has happened but you can decide how you are going to respond to it.

“I have learned, that the person I have to ask for forgiveness from the most is: myself. You must love yourself. You have to forgive yourself, everyday, whenever you remember a shortcoming, a flaw, you have to tell yourself "That's just fine". You have to forgive yourself so much, until you don't even see those things anymore. Because that's what love is like.”

- C. JoyBell C.

So what's my plan now? I am going to forgive myself for oversleeping and missing the important things that I needed to today. I am going to make a new plan for the upcoming days to make up for the lost day in order to complete all the work I need to do. And, I am going to go easy on myself and try my best to relax. Today is a lost day but it is now over and there is nothing I can do to change the past. Instead I am making a plan for the future that will help me feel better about today. No matter what the error- missing an appointment, making a mistake on an exam, forgetting an assignment- don't be hard on yourself. Forgive yourself for the the accident and realize that we all make mistakes. Yes, earlier today I was very irritated with myself but I have come to recognize that being hard on myself was simply a waste of time and energy. So, don't beat yourself up over things that you cannot change. Remember that none of us are perfect and we all make mistakes. Relax and create a plan for the future to remedy an error that occurred in the past. Forgiveness is important in all areas of our life but the most important person we need to learn to forgive is ourselves.

Go easy on yourself- relax and breathe,

xo

22 Days Til Christmas

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Judy Garland