During my journey of being a better me and loving myself, I have been reading more. I read between one and two books a month. I have noticed that the more I read, the more I understand myself and the world around me. Reading helps me to gain perspective and knowledge that I can apply to my life. It has also helped me to be more confident, and to appreciate myself more.
One book I recently read was The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz. The book taught me that the only person I can change is myself and that I should strive to be impeccable with my words. It also showed me the importance of being kind and understanding of others, and that I should always strive to be the best version of myself.
The four agreements are as follows:
Be impeccable with your word
Don't take anything personally
Don't make assumptions
Always do your best
The biggest one of these agreements for me is number 3. See, when you overthink, you tend to make assumptions. At least, I have found myself doing this at times. Overthinking has been such a waste of time. Why you ask? Cause there are certain situations you just cannot control. It also leads to worry and that creates all kinds of health issues. Conquering this for me is huge and it allowed me more time to be more creative and feel less stressed.
Now, I do also practice the other three agreements. This book was a reminder for me of how and why I should continue living with these agreements in my professional and personal life.
An important part of self-care is doing the hard work and reflecting on what needs to change. Remember it is not always about the luxury of self-care, it is about digging in and
getting to the root of things.
Sometimes you have to do the dirty work to get to the best parts of yourself. It is up to you to figure out what the dirty work is and how you will handle your healing.