This is the 3rd part of the Self Improvement Series.
The second part of the Self Improvement series talks about being positive. Self improvement all starts within the person and I should say that to achieve this, one has to feel good about himself.
A great way to start feeling good about yourself is to change your self-concept – it is how you perceive and see yourself. One has to have a positive self-concept for him to be confident, and in turn feel positive.
The story of the eagle who was raised in a chicken farm is a great example of having a positive self-concept. The eagle, when it was still an egg, for whatever reason reached the chicken farm, so the chickens decided to consider it as its own until it hatched and grew to become an adult. The eagle grew up like the way chickens behave. One time, he saw some eagles soaring high above the clouds and he told himself, “How I wish I can be like an eagle.”
Image from www.vogue.co.uk
Most of us don’t know that we are an eagle basically because we grew up in the chicken farm. Deep in our being, we can do greater things, yet we can’t because we don’t see ourselves capable of doing it. Many of us, when we were still young were labeled as “idiot” or “stupid” or “bad” or “you are not good at all.” Those negative words were imprinted in our mind that as we grow old, we see ourselves as such. We used the feedback from others to develop a concept about ourselves.
Another common reason why we don’t feel good about ourselves is that we don’t appreciate what we have at present. Most of us are not contented with what we have and are focused too much about what we don’t have. We become more negative than being positive about who we are because we have spent too much time thinking about these things. We likewise spend more time thinking of the things we can not do.
What I can only say is to focus on your accomplishments no matter how small they are. Remember, “Great things starts from small beginnings” as the famous tonic drink jingle goes. Learn to appreciate everything you did right, even if you are the only person who knows about it.
Lastly, learn to accept yourself. Learn to accept that there are things beyond your control and there are things that you can not have. If you focus on what you can’t have or what you can’t do, then I can guarantee you, that you will never succeed in life.
To be in control of your life, you should be in control of yourself.
