I started this blog on New Years Eve of last year. I had wanted to start a blog about positive self image because it was a subject I had found myself ranting about more than usual, and I thought maybe blogging about would help get my thoughts organized, and maybe help other people at the same time. And all in all, I've written a grand total of two blog posts. That's right, two.
I'll admit, part of it is just complacency. It's a trap we all fall into, getting excited about something, only to be bored with it later on. But I remember at least a few instances where I was thinking about something and then told myself "hey, this would be a good subject for my blog!"
So why only two posts? Well, because life got in the way. Work got really busy, and wintertime lends itself to illness (and when you're an asthmatic like I am, that just leads to a cycle of illness that's not easy to break free from) and then there are things like doctor's appointments and dentist appointments and I'll admit it, sometimes you just get tired and want to watch a movie.
But I remember one day, about 2 weeks ago, I was thinking about my blog, and how I hadn't written in a long time. And I actually found myself kicking myself for not writing for a long time. And I realized that in and of itself was something worth writing about.
Why is it that we as human beings tend to be hard on ourselves? We set lofty expectations for ourselves, then we kick ourselves when we fall short. Yes, it's important to set goals, because goals give us motivation to succeed, but we have to understand that sometimes, life does get in the way. If you're feeling sick, it's OK to not write in your blog until you start feeling better. If you're trying to write 50,000 words in a month (as many of us try to do during the month of November for NaNoWriMo) and you only get 30,000 words in, hey that's nothing to scoff at! And if you wanted to lose 20 pounds before the summer and you only lost 15, well, that's still 15 pounds more than you would've lost if you didn't try at all.
It is natural to feel disappointed in ourselves. And it is important to do our best at whatever we do. But I do think we should stop being hard on ourselves whenever we fall short. Instead, maybe we can take a moment to assess the situation, and see how we can learn from the experience. If you studied hard for an exam, don't hate yourself for getting a bad grade. Just take the time to figure out what you got wrong. Then maybe next time, it'll be a little easier.
