Monday, February 22, 2010

Are You Being Kind to Yourself?

Thoughts are the threads that bind us to deeds. 
Deeds are the ropes that bind us to habits. 
Habits are the chains that bind us to destiny.
- inscription carved on the West Wall at the palace in Maygassa

It's now about 8 weeks since New Years - have you been able to change the habits you wanted to?

Some habits are good. Some habits are not good. Resolutions are generally about changing bad habits so your destiny changes. You want to be - healthy instead of unhealthy, organized instead of unorganized, unselfish instead of selfish and so on.

Reread the quote above. Be kind to yourself by seriously thinking about it. Yes, being kind to yourself is a good thing! Didn't Jesus basically say, "If you want to be kind to others, you must first be kind to yourself?"

Read the quote starting at the third line and work backwards. 
Chains - ropes - threads = opportunity for new habits
Habits - certain deeds - particular thoughts = change.

New thoughts, followed by deeds will change your destiny. So to do that - what thoughts/threads do you have to eliminate and/or change? I need to eat chocolate. I'll clean that up later. I don't have time to go for a walk. I should ...

And what thoughts/threads do you need to add? I could eat an apple. I will put this away now. I can park at the end of the parking lot. I will ...

Change a thought every hour and step by step your habits will change. Yes, it will take consistency and time, but it can happen!

Will you be kind to yourself today? What is one thought that you could change to change your destiny? 

This post is part of the blog carnival on Kindness hosted by Bridget Crumbly at One Word at a Time.

12 comments:

Glynn said...

Of all the people I think about kind to -- I'm the last one I think of. And you've got a good point here.

S. Etole said...

that's an interesting question ... one I am working on but it does take time ....

Anonymous said...

I like how you talked about changing your thoughts. What we believe always dictates our actions, so I thought this post was wonderful. Thank You!

-FringeGirl

katdish said...

That sounds like a lotta work there, Janet!

Baby steps! Baby steps for me! But good for you.

Anonymous said...

I think it is hard to be kind to ourselves because many don't think we deserve it.

These are great thoughts, Janet.

Janet Oberholtzer said...

Thanks guys! Yes, kindness to ourselves can be hard and like most good things, if taken too far its not a good thing - we can become selfish.
So we need to find a balance - because for many things if we are kind to ourselves, we are actually being kind to our loved ones ... such as: being organized can benefit them as much as us.

Helen said...

My New Year's resolution was to treat myself as I would a friend.
I've been working on it. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail.

Lorrie said...

Interesting - thanks for sharing!!

Louise Gallagher said...

I tell the women I work with who have been abused, Be gentle with yourself, you have been abused. Be kind to yourself, you have been misused. Be yourself, you are all you can be. so, be gentle and kind and you will be your best self.

thanks for the reminder

Louise

Kevin said...

Excellent post Janet! I am firm believer of the fact that our thoughts affect our actions. I like to call them faulty beliefs or to be more blunt lies i.e. I have to perfect or I can't deal with conflict. The Bible tells us to take every thought captive. This was a great reminder for me today!

Chuck Allen said...

I love the unique perspective you brought to this topic. It is certainly a timely reminder for me. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

good post, janet.