Be Kind…er.

On this edition of Free Printable Wednesday, it’s just a little healthy reminder to be kinder…to yourself.

This is something I have to remind myself to do everyday.  So really I made this printable for me…but you can have it too if you deal with that sort of thing.  I feel like I’m pretty good at the being kind to others thing.  In no way am I perfect…and I totally have the capacity to be very unkind.  But, in general…others…they get my kindness.

I on the other hand get no kindness from me.  Im hard on myself in everything I do, and I think I mumble some sort of smart ass comment about how “fat” i am on the daily.  Even admitting that out loud makes me cringe a bit.  I would NEVER ever EVER call someone else fat.  EVER.  I hate that word…yet I’m so comfortable showering myself with it constantly.

It’s not just body image it’s motherhood, it’s adulthood, it’s creative-hood.  Each of those things is riddled with insults I wouldn’t even say to my worst enemy.

Recently on vacation Brett and I had some time to burn some birthday cash and go shopping.  I’ve been avoiding jeans for a while now, because well…I don’t feel at my best.  We went into a couple of stores and I figured something must be wrong because I was fitting into sizes that in my mind were impossible.  I’ve been on the prowl for the perfect boyfriend jean, and we wandered into an American Eagle during my hot pursuit.  I grabbed a size smaller than I usually pick up and the unthinkable happened.  They were way too big.  It must be mislabeled, there’s now way I could fit in something smaller, so against my better judgement, I grabbed the next size smaller.  They fit!  They even had a little room!  I almost cried in the dressing room.  I even took a little selfie to keep on my phone to remind me when I start to go to the negative place (i had already spent my birthday cash, so the jeans live in AE still…they’ll be mine soon…maybe next month).

This isn’t about weight loss and jean size as much as it is about believing what is true about yourself and not believing the really awful terrible lies we tell ourselves.  I went into a store believing one thing, and stood there staring straight into the face of reality.  So I had a choice…to forget and walk out of that store with the same mind-set and calling myself mean names, or be encouraged that the things i’m doing are in fact changing my body and be excited about the little victories.  Focus on the positive people.  Take care of yourself.

Be kind, and then be kinder still.

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