Self-image

“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.” 

Life begins when you decide to ignore the expectations others have of you and start pursuing the expectations you have of yourself.

Self-image determines your level of success. 

If you are happy with yourself, you are more likely to be happy in any situation. If you believe in yourself and see yourself as a confident person with positive attributes, you are able to recognize how to make your life better. A person with a positive self-image recognizes that their situation is in their own hands. They see their own worth and know that they are capable of changing the things they don’t like about their life.

But let’s be real, a positive self-image is hard to develop. It takes time. It takes discipline. It takes believing in yourself.

You exist in a world where what you see is always the perfect version. You don’t get to see the rough drafts, you don’t get to see the blank faces, you don’t get to see the start-ups. You don’t see the blood, the sweat, the tears, the stress, the time that went into creating everything that you find beautiful. You only see the final product. 

When this is what surrounds you, it is hard not to see yourself as underachieving. Even the people you see as perfect don’t think they're perfect. They only see their flaws. They see what other people do better than them. 

But when you look at the happiest people in the world, you see acceptance. They recognize their flaws, they’re aware of their shortcomings, and they show off their scars because they are proud of what they do have. 

Positive self-image is derived from believing that your abilities are valuable. It comes from recognizing and being proud of the work you have done to become who you are.

HOW DO YOU DEVELOP POSITIVE SELF-IMAGE?

Be disciplined. Be diligent. Be consistent.

But, don’t ever forget where you started.

A lot of people have such a hard time being proud of anything. They think that their life up to this point has been a complete waste of time and energy. They don’t recognize everything they have overcome. Any achievement you have is impressive because not everyone has made it as far as you have.

Positive self-image begins when you can recognize how far you’ve come.

Look back to where you started. Look at where you are now. There is a change. Even if there are minor changes, there is something to be proud of. Let that be your starting point. See yourself as a project that you have slowly been working on. You have already gone this far, so you may as well keep going.

Once you accept your life to this point, you can better map out where you want to go. You can continue to do things that help bolster your skills. Developing yourself only makes you more confident. But to do this, you must have discipline.

Being disciplined allows you to develop routines and habits that make you better. Being disciplined requires having a strong purpose for everything you do. Without purpose, there is no reason to do anything. But when you have a clear, concise purpose for everything you do, the self-discipline will follow and the self-image will improve.

Start wanting what you get. Create the life you want. Become the person you want to see when you look in the mirror.

Create an image of yourself you want to see and don’t stop ‘til you see it.

***

Thank you for reading.

I appreciate every single person who happens to stumble across these deep sentiments buried in my subconscious.

I hope if you’re here you can relate.

My goal is to help others better themselves while doing the same.