Now Is The Time To Create A Positive Self Image It’s Friday night and the kids are in bed after a long busy week. You treat yourself to a glass of wine and settle down to some well-deserved “me” time.  Just as you start to relax the telephone rings. Picking it up you recognize your sister’s voice and inwardly groan. Not known for her tact, you brace yourself for more of her home truths and judgments. You open up and tell her about a difficult incident with your youngest child at school. “Well you never have been capable of sorting your children out, have you?” she says smugly. Catching your breath you feel the sting of her words. Considering her opinion, you begin to agree with it. Maybe you are a terrible mother. Perhaps you have no control over your children. Is that truly how your family views you? Taking a large gulp of wine, you choke back a tear. Your sister is right. You are hopeless at everything and should give up trying anything new. After all, you will only make a mess of things. The amount of time spent thinking about negative self-beliefs leaves little time for anything else. As soon as an exciting opportunity appears those limiting beliefs sabotage your chances to change and grow. The easiest way is to give in and forget it. What’s the point of starting a new venture that is destined to fail because of your ineptitude? Once you take the big step of challenging your negative self-beliefs you will begin to question what it is that you really want and need.  This opens endless opportunities for positive growth in all areas of life including health, confidence and happiness. As you release each negative self-belief you must give time to grieve for the loss. After all, you may have carried this self-judgment from early childhood. Find a balance between mourning the old and celebrating the new. Always trust that the right decision has been made because the journey may not be easy.  You will never face more difficulty than you can handle, so keep the faith. Try speaking your fears out loud to a counselor. Once they have been voiced, you will see that they are not as terrible or serious as you always thought. Your counselor will gently encourage you to see your negative self-image in a new way. Then you can gently begin to facilitate positive changes. Always surround yourself with sympathetic and encouraging people who you feel comfortable with.  Choose your therapist and counselor with care. It’s your right to change practitioners if you need to. Each time you make a negative statement force yourself to find the opposite, positive version. e.g. “I’m so stupid, I will never be successful,” changes to “I am an intelligent person who deserves success in every way.” Learn to say NO sometimes if anything makes you feel inadequate. No one has the right to judge you. You are an amazing person capable of feeling and giving love, not just to yourself but to everyone you meet and connect with. There is always room to feel better about yourself and there has never been a better time to start.]]>