Who were you before you carried the stress of worrying about who you needed to be? This is a recurrent question that remains relevant in so many aspects of my life. Embracing the times in which I was living, would soon grow to be something I would miss without even realizing it. The term that can quite literally describe this feeling would be nostalgia. Throughout all of the years, I’ve been able to see the growth shown in various different moments in my life, for I have no doubt in my mind that my child self would be looking at me so proud of where I am, and all the achievements I have made up until this point.
In understanding the self-journey I currently am embarking upon, lies the question, who am I? As time evolves, so do we, and oftentimes the worry and anxiety of wondering who we will be in the future hinder us from appreciating where we currently are in life. Embracing my child self to me means tapping into that carefree mentality we all once possessed when we were kids. The state of simply being centralized around the importance of accepting who you were, are, and will soon become. Dismantling that anxiety behind the uncertainty of the future and replacing it with excitement, enables this ideology at its core, as we welcome the future, because of the fact that it’s unknown.
Acceptance and appreciation for everything I possess, and furthermore forgiving every version of myself is how I continue to maintain the love and growth I commend myself on. Furthermore, I always feel as though it’s imperative to take the time to truly understand the person you are on the deepest level so that you can further excel as you continue to grow. I think there’s beauty in reflecting on all versions of yourself because it allows you to appreciate everything you are in its entirety. How do I do this?
Well first I focused on the concept of “Healing My Inner Child”
Let’s dive into this concept further. This term can be understood as the process of acknowledging who your child self was, and accepting the things that caused you pain, or made you who you are today. As opposed to suppressing the hurt you endured, you forgive and embrace that, and ultimately understand what it meant to you at that time. Understanding all of the baggage you may continue to hold within your teenage, or adult years can all be uncovered by tapping into the idea of healing your inner child. It should never be viewed as a bad thing in my opinion, but rather something of beauty as it serves as a representation of all you’ve overcome and essentially grown from.
The four words of influence I work hard to carry throughout every self-exploration I embark upon are:
Understand, Accept, Forgive, and Grow
No matter the situation I always know I will have the confidence to grow from the experience as it will always exist to benefit me; everything we experience can be viewed as something we can learn from.
As I continue to reflect on who I was throughout my childhood and the duration of my life, it allows me to further understand why I am who I am today. I think this ideology also allowed me to be more present and appreciative of the version of myself I currently am. We are all constantly growing and progressing into the best versions of ourselves. It’s comforting to be able to sit and appreciate all of the growth I’ve been able to experience up until this point. So, therefore, I now relinquish the doubt and worry about who I will become and replace that with confidence, knowing that I will be the best version of myself regardless of where I am in life.
I can only hope that you all carry the hope and self-compassion within yourselves that so many people see within you.
Much Love <3
Zoë Rose