My 19-year-old daughter was a challenging child. I felt as if I didn’t know the best way to parent her, and I would search outside of myself for answers. This made me feel like a bad parent, and it was an unsettling time for me. I was not in harmony with myself or anyone. Once I healed some past wounds and found self-acceptance, I was able to understand the needs of my daughter. She wasn’t a challenging child, but a sensitive one that needed to be parented in a different way. We all have times in our lives when we are not living in harmony. Once we can work through our challenges, we can find ourselves in a beautiful space.
Living in harmony with yourself is a large concept to unpack. The notion that you must know all aspects of yourself could seem daunting to individuals who suffer from self-esteem issues.
As overwhelming as living harmoniously with yourself sounds, you can learn to do so. In fact, implementing this practice into your wellness routine can help improve your quality of life and your relationships.
What Does Living in Harmony with Yourself Mean?
When you listen to a choir sing, what’s the first thing you notice? Aside from their beautiful voices, it’s the way they all can sing together so fluidly. It’s like their voices somehow become one and they sing from a unified position.
When a person decides to live in harmony with themselves, they choose to accept all aspects of their personality. They let those characteristics work together to create a beautiful and unique person.
Although living in harmony with yourself sounds easy, it comes with its fair share of challenges. To begin, individuals who experience low self-esteem may not value every part of their character. They may allow certain things about their personality to bring them down, which creates an imbalance within their psyche.
In order to accept all aspects of your personality and begin living in harmony with yourself, you must be willing to put in the work. Let’s consider a few steps you can implement to begin your journey toward harmony.
1. Learn How to Make Your Flaws Work for You
We all have flaws. There’s no denying or getting around that. Instead of focusing on your imperfections, work on finding the silver lining in them.
For example, you may have a hard time communicating effectively with others. Instead of wallowing in the fact that you can’t orally communicate, discover creative ways to express yourself. Some individuals find comfort in writing or drawing. This provides them with an outlet to speak for themselves without feeling judged.
2. Practice Acceptance and Gratitude
There are just some “flaws” that may take some time to work out. This is where practicing acceptance comes into play. If you find yourself obsessing over your so-called awkwardness or inability to make friends, perhaps it’s time to adjust your focus and accept who you are.
You must remind yourself that there are billions of people on this planet. If everyone had the same personality, do you think it would be interesting? Probably not. Therefore, understand that your uniqueness contributes to the diversity in the world.
Next, find something to be grateful for regarding your flaws. If you don’t think you’re social enough, perhaps find a reason to be proud of that trait. This will help you enhance your self-esteem without feeling the need to compare yourself to others.
3. Improve What You Can Change
If you can change something about yourself, try to do so. This will contribute to feeling completely balanced and harmonious.
We all have to work towards self-improvement and progression. Without putting in the effort, reaching that level of inner harmony is impossible. Therefore, do whatever it takes to meet your goals.
It’s important, with this step specifically, not to do something to appease others. That would directly contradict your work toward harmony. Instead, do it for yourself in order to truly discover the benefits.
Although accepting all areas of yourself is challenging, it is well worth the effort. You’ll notice a complete shift in how you view and speak about yourself. Simple tasks like talking to people or meeting work deadlines may start to seem effortless.
By putting these tips and tricks into practice, you’ll soon reap the many benefits of living harmoniously with yourself.