31 Days Of I Love Myself Enough : Day 25
DAY TWENTY FIVE: I LOVE MYSELF ENOUGH TO STOP SHRINKING SO THAT OTHERS FEEL COMFORTABLE
This took me a long time to practise.
For so many years, I was used to playing small. I allowed others to take the limelight because I didn’t want the spotlight shining on me.
After all, who was I?
I was just a little girl who grew up in poverty. I was a nobody. Everyone else was better than me, more deserving than me, more worthy than me.
At least that’s what I believed.
I grew up believing that life was hard, that you had to work incredibly hard to get anywhere and that other people were more deserving of good things than others.
I learned to make myself smaller. To hold back. To let others shine while I stood quietly in the background, never quite believing that I had anything special to offer.
I was so afraid of being seen, of drawing attention to myself, or of what other people might think of me.
Then I discovered the teachings of Louise Hay, and slowly, something began to change.
I started learning to love myself. To believe that I was worthy. That I was deserving. That I was just as valuable as anybody else.
And, most importantly, I began to realise that I had a light of my own to shine.
I began to see how I had I dimmed that light over the years!
I had spent so much time believing that standing in my power, celebrating myself, or allowing myself to be seen meant I was being big-headed or thought I was better than other people.
But that’s not what it’s about at all.
It’s not about being better than anyone else. It’s about no longer believing that you are less than anyone else.
It’s about recognising that you have just as much right to take up space, to have a voice, to be celebrated, to be successful and to shine as anyone else.
And here’s something else I’ve learned: I am not responsible for making myself smaller to protect other people’s comfort.
I can be kind without hiding my gifts. I can celebrate my achievements without feeling guilty. I can stand tall in who I am without apologising for it.
Other people’s opinions of me no longer get to determine how brightly I shine.
Not everyone will understand me, agree with me, or like me, and that’s okay. I no longer need to dim my light to make myself more acceptable to others.
Because the truth is, we are ALL worthy. We are ALL deserving. We ALL have something unique to bring to this world.
And the world doesn’t need us to hide that.
It needs us to be ourselves.
So, today, I give myself permission to take up space, to use my voice, to celebrate who I am and to let my light shine brightly.
Not because I am better than anyone else, but because I finally understand that I am no less than anyone else, either.
And neither are you.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION:
I love and accept myself exactly as I am. I no longer shrink to make others comfortable. I give myself permission to stand tall, take up space and let my beautiful light shine. I am worthy. I am deserving. I am enough.
Sending you all so much love from my heart to yours 
Lynn
