Accept yourself, and remember who you can become!

(note: I tried to find a source for this image with no success.  If anyone figures out who the creator is,
I’ll gladly give them credit!)

Accept yourself!

In life, we have a tendency to judge ourselves too harshly.  Sometimes when we look in the mirror, all we can see is our flaws and inadequacies.  We look back on social situations and see only our “cringe” moments, where we said or did the wrong thing and embarrassed ourselves.  We try to change our lifestyles to something healthier, and all we think about is how futile it is, with how many times we “fall off the boat.”

Stop.  This kind of thinking is counter-productive.  I know, because sometimes I do it, too.  I used to be a reeeeaaally awkward kid, with more “cringe” moments than I care to think of.  I know what it’s like to look into the mirror and see a skinny bag of bones, with none of the muscle I wish I had.  I also know what it’s like to look into a mirror and see a tire hanging around my waist that snuck up on me when I wasn’t paying attention.

Focusing on the bad things is not only damaging in the short term, it’s also demoralizing in the long term.  You need to stop basing your opinion of yourself on your flaws, and realize that you are a good person, who is deserving of more credit than you’re giving yourself.  You need to accept that everyone has flaws, even if you feel like others have fewer than you do (hint: they don’t, everyone has flaws!).  Even more than accepting the fact that you have flaws, you need to accept yourself.

Now, does this mean you should accept who you are and become complacent in that?  No!

Remember who you can become!

We are here because we love video game characters.  We look at them, and see someone who we would like to be!  Does this mean we ignore who we presently are?  No!  But if you’re here right now, you’re someone who is smart enough, driven enough, and determined enough to realize that you want to make changes in your life to become more than you are right now.  You’re awesome, because you’ve already realized it.  You just need to start putting one foot in front of the other.

If you’ve made that first step to be here, on this site, looking at these workout plans, skill breakdowns, and instructional videos, then you have momentum.  Keep going.  You are not alone, you are not weird for wanting this, and you should be nothing but emboldened and empowered in what you’re doing.

Personally, I find that picking the character I’m shooting for and surrounding myself with that character is a good way of keeping myself moving in the right direction.  I find a cool background for my computer featuring that character.  I grab the official soundtrack for  the game that character is from, and play it often (especially when I’m working out).  I try to remember who it is I’m trying to become, every time I need to make a decision regarding nutrition, fitness, or just general lifestyle choices.

You need to realize that you are someone with potential.  You’re a sleeper agent, already holding everything you need to become a new “you.”  This isn’t someone who invalidates the old “you,” rather, you build upon who you were before.  Think about RPGs where you can start a “New Game+” after you’ve beaten the game.  You get to carry on all the experience and abilities that you’ve already accumulated(who you are now), but you get to start an entirely fresh journey, able to learn SO MANY new skills, spells, and tricks!

Every single day is a brand new day to start your adventure.  Dump your past flaws and errors, realize you’re a stronger person for them, and start building who you want to be tomorrow.

That’s it for today!  Please don’t forget to like the blog on Facebook, and follow on Twitter and Tumblr.  While you’re at it, if you enjoyed this post, please share/retweet it to your friends!  We’ll see you on Thursday!.  Until then, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome.

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace