Be Yourself

Now, more than ever, we seem to be bombarded with ways to ‘improve’ ourselves. The Self-help sections of book shops are full to overflowing with the latest advice on what we’ve been doing wrong, and absolutely foolproof ways to put it all right. You know the sort of thing:

‘Spirituality in 3 Easy Steps’

‘5 minutes a day to Self-Enlightenment’

‘The Only Self-Help Book You’ll Ever Need – Volume VII’

It’s not that we can’t benefit from being healthier in Mind, Body and Spirit. Of course we can. And sharing positive thoughts and actions is all to the good.

But are we to believe that someone else always has the best answers to our problems? And doesn’t that mean there has to be something very wrong with us in the first place?

I’ve been there, trying to soak up the knowledge. I’ve got a whole library of books and audios to prove it. They provided short-term inspiration, but never quite gave me the full picture.

And yet I know the one constant here is me. I’m having the life experience. So why don’t I look to myself for the answers? The phrase ‘Go Within’ can sound like a cliché, but deep down I know it makes sense.

Whether you choose to see it as connecting with your subconscious mind, Higher Self or just pure intuition, I believe we can find the answers internally. Meditation, quiet moments of reflection, or maybe a spark of inspiration while in the shower, can help us reconnect with our innate wisdom. Sometimes, we can just feel a ‘nudge’ in a certain direction.

We don’t have to be someone else’s idea of a better person. Learning to accept ourselves for who we are is a good starting point. We’re not broken, we’re just unique. There’s no one quite like us in the 7.6 billion humans we share the planet with.

From a place of self-acceptance, we can move forward positively in ways that feel more natural to us. We haven’t got to change, we can get to change at our own pace, guided by our inner feelings.

There’s no reason for us to stop using external learning, but we don’t have to rely on it as our only hope of finding a solution.

And just be yourself. No one does it quite as well as you.