How many times a day do we say mean things about ourselves?  Do we say we look bad, sound bad, drive poorly, or just generally criticize ourselves?  If you ever pay attention, I’ll bet you’ll hear yourself do this a lot more than you think.

If you treat yourself like this, you are treating yourself like your worst enemy.  Or if you avoid someone you consider, maybe not the enemy, but maybe just someone you really don’t like, I’ll bet you treat yourself worse.

Pay attention.  How do you talk to yourself?  Start with the morning when you look in the mirror to shave or to put on makeup. How do you speak to yourself? Women seem to be harder on ourselves than men at this stage.  Look at how you deal with others, including your family and your work life people.  How do you do with interactions and how do you judge yourself during or afterward?

After you realize that you may indeed be treating yourself as the enemy, stop and take a few minutes.  You would never say anything like this to someone you loved, would you?  Your sibling, your child, your best friend or your spouse; if you really love them…would you speak to them like you speak to yourself?  Find evidence of how you talk to yourself first and then really ponder the question.

What if you could start thinking of yourself as your own best friend.  You would, in the best of times, be honest, but kind.  Can you do that for yourself? It will make all the difference.  Because if you can be your own best friend in word and deed, your whole world can change.  It may change little by little, but you will find more self-confidence, more peace and you’ll be kind not just to yourself, but to others too.