Who you are right now, this very second as you even read this is the best version of yourself. Despite all the mistakes, blunders and hurdles life has thrown at you.

Life is tough and it is beautiful. You’re not going to be cheerful and jovial everyday. There are going to be times where you hit rock bottom and where you reach the highs of life.

Quite often the troubles of life, even after they are over, tend to be a hindrance to the self. An incident of the past can take you away from the present moment by making you believe that it defines you and that you are now incapable of moving forward from it. It doesn’t help when those around you trigger those thoughts and feelings constantly either. Unfortunately this society doesn’t help either, it is built on proving yourself through external measures and how you must be at a certain point in life at different stages, hence not exceeding the expectations placed on you then leaves you believing you’re a failure.

BUT YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE! You are supposed to get things wrong! You are supposed to make mistakes! You are supposed to fail! Why? Because when that happens there is an opportunity to learn. When we learn we grow, when we grow we leave the comfort zone, when we leave the comfort zone we live life and move forward.

Now when these incidents in life occur, it doesn’t mean you jump to find the lesson in it straight away. The first thing required is to reflect, process and accept what has happened. How you do it, is unique to you, whether it’s going for a walk, writing, drawing or talking to someone who will listen allowing you to express those thoughts and feelings. There is no time limit for this so take your time. But once you have processed it, learn from it and think moving forward what is now required of you through your own expectations not the expectations outside of you.

Sometimes, we can forget to do the above, especially when those around us are not individuals who want to help excel your growth. So it’s important that where you seek that belonging is with people who allow you to be completely vulnerable with all emotions and thoughts from the high and low side of the spectrum. Those who will hold up a mirror to show you yourself, because having a space for you to reflect upon life’s situations is crucial, however as social animals having a space with loved ones where you can be totally you with all the goodness and flaws is important too.

You are the most important person in your life, remember whatever happens has now happened, so all you have is the present moment. To be in the present moment be grateful, when you’re grateful you accept yourself for who you are right now, and that is the best version of yourself. Life is tough but you are a being amongst billions, billions who have fallen and risen just like you, so as well as learning from yourself, learn from those ahead of you on this journey called life.

To be grateful is to love yourself.
To love yourself be grateful.