Remember a couple articles ago when we talked about how growth is really tough? Well that message has continued to sit with me and last week, I saw someone start a practice that I felt was worth spreading – so now I’m sharing it with you!
One of the practices that I feel is critically important when pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is to be gentle with yourself. The other day, one of my good friends, who has been getting familiar with the discomfort that comes with transformation, posted something on social media that stopped me in my tracks. He had written an apology to himself. It was raw and beautiful and REAL. With his permission, I am sharing it with all of you today:
This honesty and gentleness toward himself stuck with me. I found myself thinking about it all the time and wondered what would come out if I too wrote myself an apology. After allowing it to just be an idea for a while, I finally decided muster up the courage and face myself. It took a lot to address some of the wrongs I have committed against myself over the years.
I was blown away at the peace that this letter brought me. At first, I thought it would be painful to acknowledge all the terrible things that I’ve said to myself and all the ways I’ve doubted my abilities. I personally did not find much of that. Instead, it created almost an out of body experience where I saw myself as I would see a friend and I could just talk open and honestly with her. I’ve never looked at myself that way before.
My apology to myself opened up a whole new perspective of self love that I could never see before. I had only ever looked through my eyes from the inside out – not seeing myself from the outside in. It was truly beautiful. I spoke from my heart and gave a true apology for all the limited beliefs I’ve carried about myself for years. 
The best part – I also realized right away that I could forgive myself too. So I did. I let go (finally) of all of those self degrading comments and patterns. That’s not to say they still don’t come up from time to time but they are much easier to dismiss and choose again now.
Once all the apologies were out, I realized that I could let go of those choices and find new ones that replaced them. Instead of being critical on say, my body, I realized that I could choose gratitude. So after my apology, and after I released all my self-defeating thoughts, I spend time loving and being grateful for myself. I don’t think I’ve ever taken time to do that before. But seeing me like I would see a friend, it become as easy as breathing to find it.
The whole experience was so freeing and empowering. I would highly recommend taking a quiet moment to yourself sometime soon and writing your own beautiful self an apology from the heart. I think you too will find an incredible amount of value in taking part in this activity of self love.
Be brave and let go of the ideas that no longer serve you – you’re worth it.
This is a movement worth spreading – please pass this along too! Share with your loved ones. Allow them to take part in this healing journey too.
A special thanks to Allóthriskos Elpída for having the courage to share your apology and self love practice with the world. This would not have been possible without you.