Be gentle with yourself. A beautiful reminder to allow yourself some space

Be gentle with yourself.

It is a message I seem to hear on repeat these days.

I have a thought, the words come in. Like a gentle lullaby, soothing me at every turn.  Reminding me to take a step back and look at where my thoughts and emotions are at that moment.

The message is that of love.  Of acceptance.  Of giving yourself some space without the harshest of expectations.

Let’s face it.  We’re hard on ourselves.  Even when we are working endlessly not to be, those little thoughts can sneak in, attempting to throw us off kilter, bringing in little nigglings of self-doubt.  Thoughts that start to make us wonder who we are and what we are REALLY doing.   Bringing with them thoughts of comparison, attempting to steal our joy.

Those tricky little mind games coming in as triggers from a past event, thought or experience.

I was actually just working through one of these for myself today.  Much less frequent than in the past, I was falling victim to a series of progress halting thoughts.  Thinking that I should be doing more.  I should be farther along in my project.  That I should have more to say.  I should be sharing more.  I should, should, should.  It was really nagging at me.  Toying with my productivity and more importantly; my confidence. 

But – I recognized it happening.  I took note and started talking it out with a good friend.  It didn’t take more than a couple texts before I recognized it for exactly what it was.  

A trigger - for inadequacy.  

I was not only filled with self-doubt. I felt inadequate in what I was trying to accomplish. I was comparing where I was to where my mind was telling me I should be.  Everything was “I should…”  And there is nothing that can derail you faster than when you start to “should” all over yourself.  

Let me tell you, the second this realization came in, my mindset shifted. I was able to put a label on it and it made sense.  I realized where these thoughts were coming from and CHOSE to make a change right then and there. I have done a lot of inner work to arrive at the ability to spot a trigger in action.  That doesn’t make me immune to them, but it does help me to work through them quicker than in the past. 

As I was working through this in real time, the words came in once again.

Be gentle with yourself.

Thank you, Angels and Guides.  I hear you.  Loud and clear.