Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/_QE-ZDAwqtk/
“The outward freedom that we shall attain will only be in exact proportion to the inward freedom to which we may have grown at a given moment. And if this is a correct view of freedom, our chief energy must be concentrated on achieving reform from within.” ~Gandhi
If someone asked you to recall the last time you were kind to yourself, would you struggle to bring up that memory?
At one point in time, I couldn’t remember ever being kind to myself.
I grew up with a lot of expectations from a demanding mother and other caretakers. Their expectations were all about them being in control and always being right.
It was more than confusing; it left me with a need to prove myself constantly, and it gave me an inner critic that berated me at an early age.
Years later, I got a job in corporate America where expectations were clear-cut and measured. Positive encouragement and regular successes made me feel good about myself.
I became addicted to that feeling. My ego encouraged me to continually exceed other peoples’ expectations by making my own even higher. My inner critic accepted nothing less.
Then I started my own business. I expected success to come quickly, easily, and be beyond anything I had experienced before.
It certainl…