BANISHING SELF DOUBT

Sometimes I think the greatest gift we can receive is the gift of Self Esteem. Particularly today, when young people are increasing finding life hopeless, and younger and younger women, in particular, seem to be dissatisfied with how they look; self confidence seems to be something we are lacking.

When I was fairly young, I remember being highly dissatisfied with myself and self conscious. I even thought that people might be looking at me negatively. I made the mistake, I thought at the time, of telling someone I knew. What she said to me, shocked me completely. 

She said that she had never met anyone so CONCEITED in her life. Conceited was the very last thing I considered myself to be. I considered myself the very opposite in fact. However, what she said I never forgot.

"For you to think that everyone, everywhere is looking at you, is the most conceited thing I have ever heard".

In fact, I tend to think that hardly anyone is looking at us among the millions, actually billions of people in the world. Each of them has their own concerns, interests, obligations and life to live. 

Most people probably have enough on their minds, without spending valuable time, thinking about the stranger walking by them on the street.

You are one of several billion people. Each of us is living in their own world. That world revolves around them/us only in our own minds. Meanwhile, with or without us, the rest of the world continues.

Self consciousness therefore is a solitary pursuit and like so much self centered behaviour is not productive or beneficial to ourselves, or anyone else. 

Self consciousness makes us focus inward rather than outward, to where we might learn something new. Looking outward can prevent us from insulating ourselves and creating a repetitive cycle of self absorption which benefits no one...least of all ourselves.

There is a whole world out there. All we have to do to experience it more fully is to break out of our Cocoon of self absorption and look at all that the world has to offer us. Then it is up to us whether we want to participate in the spectacular variety of opportunities life has to offer, or go back to staring at ourselves in the mirror.