Earlier this week I saw two awesome videos of young children giving themselves positive affirmations in the morning, and I had to share my thoughts.

The first one is a little girl screaming at herself in the mirror about how great her life is. It’s funny & adorable, I instantly thought of my little sister Courtney, she’d totally do this. (love you sis)

The second is a father holding his young daughter in the mirror having her repeat positive affirmations, and boy did this resonate with me. I have SO much respect for that father because not only is he putting positive thoughts into his daughter’s mind, he is ultimately building her self esteem and teaching her self love.

You see, when we’re young we really don’t care what anyone else thinks about us. When we’re happy, we smile from ear to ear. If we’re sad we cry, no matter how hysterical we may look. If we’re mad we scream. If we’re being bullied we stand up for ourselves. We express ourselves freely and love unconditionally.

But once we start to grow up we become much more aware of how others perceive us, and we begin to discover “flaws” about ourselves. I remember when I was in the 7th grade a girl in my class pointed out a flaw that I never realized I had, she told me that in the crease of my left arm I had a “roll of fat.” Still to this day I will look down at my arm and remember that comment, because that is my the first memory of feeling self conscious. When you’re young and impressionable, negative comments can do a lot of damage to your confidence, which is another reason I love the video of the father so much. His daughter is building tough skin, and learning her own self worth.

Early on in life we begin to care more what others think about us, than what we think about ourselves. Unfortunately, too many of us get stuck in this mentality. We are so quick to judge ourselves, and even quicker to let our emotions control us. It’s hard to take control of our emotions and thoughts, especially because so much of it is subconscious and expressed in different ways. Some bottle their emotions up, until something sets them off and they explode. There’s others who let every little thing get to them so they are constantly frustrated or emotional. And then there are those who seem to stay positive no matter what the situation, these people seem to live much happier & healthier lives. Our emotions have more control over our lives than we realize. Just imagine how much happier and content we could be if we were not so consumed by negativity and self consciousness. There’s very few people who are living happily and confidently in their own skin..so how do we make a change?

There’s a saying that has always stuck in my head “are you running your life, or is your life running you.” I consciously make the effort to take control of my emotions first thing in the morning. When I wake up I take the time to stretch, drink my tea, exercise, and read my devotional before taking on my day. A morning ritual is so important, if you don’t have one I advise you to make one.

Getting ready in the morning is crucial YOU time. Both men and women need this time to put themselves in a positive frame of mind. Let’s face it, if you have a rough morning  your whole day is off. Look in the mirror and be gracious to yourself. Point out certain qualities that you like about yourself, and maybe even go the through the list of things that you are thankful for. Most importantly, stop bullying yourself. If you get down on your “flaws” first thing in the morning you’re going to be self conscious & negative all day long, and nothing good comes out of tearing yourself down. Pump yourself up for the day, listen to your favorite music, put on a cute outfit, eat breakfast, plan your day, and get excited. Get excited about life. Take control of your emotions and see how drastically your life changes. We are far too blessed to be stressed.

XO

JWess