**this was a collaborated/sponsored post**
Most people know the difficult feeling they get when they feel uncomfortable with who they are. This can be feeling that you could have done better or been more authentic at its most tame, to people really struggling with their identity at the latter end of the spectrum, which may require professional help.
Feeling comfortable in yourself is not a science, it’s more of an art. It’s also, usually, the grounding element that we can return to rather than try to construct for ourselves. After all, your nature is often good, wholesome, and connected to who you are, and it’s the events of life that can bring us away from that through distraction, difficulty, or confusion.
So, how can you feel comfortable with yourself? That’s a tough question to answer. It’s hard to give people a five-step program to follow to achieve this ‘quest’ in clinical terms. However, we can offer some warm advice and practical considerations to help you feel a little more you, a little less apologetic, and, more importantly, justifiably worthwhile. Please consider the following, below:
Wear The Clothes You Want To
Wearing the clothes you want to can help you feel a little more like yourself, and it’s a great way of presenting your authentic self to the world. Too often we can feel as though we need to fit a mould, or copy what is popular, or follow trends. Of course, doing those things can help give you a frame of reference to begin. There’s a reason why many people in the Western world no longer wear toga’s from day to day, even if they are quite comfortable and novel. Ideals and norms change.
However, it can also be that wearing what you choose to wear is much more opening and freeing than anything else you could do. For instance, purchasing frames from www.eyeglasses.com can help you wear glasses that fit the shape of your face properly, after wearing basic sets for so long. That can help you resurface as you, looking cool, rocking your style, and of course, seeing as you’re supposed to. Wearing the clothes you want to is self-empowerment, no matter who you are, what your body looks like, and how you feel. Of course, it’s important to be tasteful, but you get to define that for the most part.
Unapologetically Follow Your Interests
There is absolutely nothing wrong with having interests, hobbies, or passions. In fact, it’s to be encouraged. Unapologetically follow your interests no matter how nerdy, silly, or unique they might be. For instance, it might be that a 40-year-old bodybuilder who works as a doorman for nightclubs at the weekend really wishes to learn tap dancing. Might this be seen as ‘outside of the norm’ because the rest of his lifestyle is defined by toughness and strength in appearance? Well, who is to say tap dancers aren’t tough? They’re certainly extremely skilled.
This quite specific example should denote that no matter who you are, you are interested in the things you’re interested in. Why not join a club, a community, or simply learn the basics of your hobby and practice? Stay excited about this, because it can help you move forward and feel like you have something to engage with. It can keep you out of making difficult mistakes. It might provide you with a discipline, which can be phenomenal in itself. No matter who you are, following your interests is a worthwhile use of your time. Who cares what others say?
Hold Yourself To High Standards, But Forgive & Love Yourself
It’s important to seek to always improve, to always think before coming to an opinion, and to consider who you could be rather than who you are now. This might mean that you become kind to someone you would have otherwise judged, or perhaps you can hold yourself to a high standard and admit your mistakes while doing so. That’s a fantastic place to start, and if more people did this, life would be so much better for us all.
However, holding yourself to high standards means more than just making yourself a disciplined machine, hitting every single one of your gym goals without fail. It’s about loving yourself for who you are and forgiving yourself for those mistakes. That way, you don’t have to bite yourself when you get things wrong. That way, you’re more likely to stay honest with your approach and reflect on your actions in life. That way, you’re more likely to feel comfortable in your own skin.
Don’t Let Others Define Who You Are
We all define our personality in various ways. Often, this might start with who we are as a human, and then a member of a nation or a race, and then perhaps an age, then a family, then our career, then our interests. We can endlessly define ourselves based on our surroundings and the contexts through which we live. For instance, live in an area for a good amount of time and you’ll begin to identify with it.
However, don’t let others define who you are. Don’t let them tell you. It might be that you’re a kind person at heart, but others wish to tell you that you’re uncaring or unwilling because you have reservations about aiding them with a difficult situation no-questions-asked. It’s important to stand up for ourselves from time to time and voice what we believe in. This way, you can be honest about your needs, and you’ll naturally find the people you actually should be within that context.
Don’t let others define who you are, that’s something you can reserve for yourself. You can always take on constructive criticism however, but that’s for a purpose of positivity, not for breaking you down. If you can get into this way of thinking, or aim for it, you’re sure to hold your own opinion in higher regard.
With this advice, we hope you can feel more confident about yourself in the best possible manner. That usually translates to feeling comfortable in who you are.
