Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A special dedication from the heart to my dearest friends:

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” 

Instead of asking what other people think about you, or if your best friend approves of your choices, or whether your mom and dad are happy with your life decisions, did you ever ask the question, if you approve of yourself? If you don’t approve of yourself, your thoughts, your ideas, or your actions and are whole-heartedly relying on the support and validation from a steady supply of well-wishers, then you may end up walking around the majority of your days with a feeling of inadequacy, a discomfort, or perhaps a look on your face that suggests you are just not good enough.

Let's take ourselves further down this path and see what happens on the dark side. Say, you do make some headway in life (despite the negative language you may be speaking with yourself), and accomplish some lofty challenges. You may start to feel that you were successful by chance, or that somehow you didn't deserve what you earned. In fact, you may even start to sabotage yourself and stay 'stuck' at where you are in your life so you don't move forward anymore. By keeping your life just as it is, you convince yourself that you are content and happy because life is familiar. It is known. It has become a habit, a life routine that is now easy.

What may be easy may seem like happiness at first glance but as the comfort sets in and you live each day as the day before, you slowly begin to see something different. You may see that your inability to move beyond your current life conditions is merely a reflection of the artificial barriers that you have planted in your mind about yourself that are now thwarting your growth. You may be creating these mental blocks that are cementing in your mind what you do and do not deserve to have in your life. These  mental obstacles then start gaining traction and they take root and tell you what you are and are not capable of being. They might tell you that you aren’t really the kind of person who could overcome the challenges that are before you and this darkness, this fear, created in the mind gains momentum.  

So, what if you just for a second, let go of fueling this roadblock to your personal growth and breeding this pattern of self-limiting behavior? What if you flipped the scenario and just for a moment, considered a different approach? Let's see what happens.  

Say you do give yourself a nod, a pat on the back, a hug, and say, "Yes" instead of "No" to who you are. In fact ,if you do give yourself a seal of approval, it could be a tremendous tool to empower and uplift your life journey. Give yourself the sign of approval and allow yourself to be who you want to be without looking for those signals from those around you. Chop down the inner barrier and jump into life even when it is hard and even if you have doubts, and you will see the self-sabotaging tendency dissolve into pieces. Perhaps then, you would tend to breathe a little easier, laugh a bit more, and you may relax into who you are.  With that loosening of resistance, will come a glow, a light, and an inner freedom to just be you, celebrate that, and even smile about it.

So, if you could just let yourself go, fly, and be free for this  moment, then why not let yourself be free for not just this one but all the moments of your life?