Dumping the Garbage!

It is important that we take a step back from ourselves and be critical about our attitude towards ourselves.  Not about our appearance or whatever faults we perceive that we have, but our attitude!

To help yourself do this, I suggest you write out a list of ten of your ‘faults’ and then a list of ten good points.  There is something about writing things down that helps us put things into perspective!  You may battle with the good points at first, not because you don’t have any but because it is so foreign to say something nice about yourself.  Once you have done that, assess the “bad” points and then look at their importance.  For example, being pigeon-toed really doesn’t matter so long as your legs are strong, you can walk, jog, run. Being overweight is not incurable, being short is not a disaster, etc., etc.

If there are problems that are incurable, learn to accept them as being part of what makes you unique and special. We in South Africa are blessed with outstanding athletes who are handicapped. Natalie Du Toit is one fine example of someone who, despite losing her leg in an accident, has gone on to become a top international, olympic swimmer. She didn’t let her handicap cripple her!

Everytime you find yourself being critical about yourself stop!  Just stop immediately and replace that thought with something positive.  Just for fun, ask a friend or family member to write out ten good points about you. In fact – ask as many people as you can! I’m certain that you are thinking that you could write a whole book of bad points, but that would defeat our objective. We are focusing on the good points and I know, that once you have spent enough time focused in a positive way, you will find that most of your bad points are in your head or are not so bad after all.

If you think that the above exercise is vain and will lead to sinful pride, you are wrong. God does not want us to think badly of ourselves and to be crippled by self-hatred and low self-esteem.  In fact, we are told to love others as we love ourselves! We cannot truly love others if we are filled with self loathing. A good self-esteem is not pride, or vanity, rather it is an honest evaluation of who we are – child of God, uniquely designed to fulfill His unique purpose for our lives, a masterpiece of God’s creation.