If you can trust no one else, the one person you should be able to trust is yourself. There’s something so rewarding about living up to your word to yourself. I know that the minute you start letting yourself down and not listening to your heart, the disappointment that follows isn’t worth it. For me, personally, the times in my life I followed the voices of others instead of listening to my heart and doing what was best for me, I sadly made mistakes that I will never be able to change. Other people, as good as their intention might be for themselves, will never truly be able to make the decisions for you that ultimately you must make for yourself. You are the only person who can determine what is best for your life.
I know when I allow myself to give the control to others to make my choices for me or trust them over what I feel is best for me, I’m left resentful and usually disappointed. At least if my choice is wrong, I can find understanding of what I need to do differently or what I need to change; besides you can’t change what you don’t (or won’t) own. Until you truly make the decision to control your own destiny and choices, you will never develop into the person you, or God, for that matter, wants you to be! Giving others the ability to control the outcome of your life isn’t fair to them or you. It may seem scary at first, but, in reality, it’s more scary to be out of control of your own pathway in life. The beautiful part about making your own choices and following your heart is you can feel proud that you put yourself first. I will mention again, William Shakespeare’s wonderful words, “to thine own self be true…and you cannot be false to any man”.
I can’t stress the importance of putting yourself first in life. In order to make your life a full, happy life it’s important that you realize what you personally need or want out of your life. It’s such an empowering feeling, being able to choose the path you take. When you finally reach your goals and get to where you want to go you know you did it on your own – not following the crowd – but by your own will and choice. What a great feeling it is to know your choices got you to the place you’re at and nobody but you got you there. There is a sense of accomplishment that goes along with setting your life up the way you want it. Of course, with that, there is also a sense of personal responsibility to make your choices wisely. So when you wake up and your heart is telling you the way to step, don’t allow anyone to pull you in another direction. Take that step to set boundaries and value yourself enough to make sure you are doing what is best for you. The world we live in has a way of taking as much as we will give. It is up to you and me to say No and decide to put ourselves first. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve put off the things I knew I should do for myself in order to please someone else. Funny thing about this is I guarantee the person you are putting ahead of yourself, is putting themselves first or you wouldn’t be helping them. One of the biggest issues I’ve had in my life is setting boundaries and learning to put my needs first. It takes practice and time but, I believe I will be able to get there. Each day is a new opportunity to make choices that are best suited for me and my life.
God Bless
Heidi
holdheidishand 