We are our own worst critics

A recent, beautiful post about two parents that adopted two children and who were having a terrible time buying groceries, sparked the writing of this post:

We are too self-critical.  

I bet this statement is true for nearly all human beings.

We worry about how we look or what other people think of how we look.  We worry about our financial situations or what others think of our financial situations.  We worry about our lives and how we are living them, and how OTHER people see and think of our lives and how we live them.  And you know what?  I think most everyone else is so busy with his or her own life that he or she really isn't even interested in judging the rest of us.

We are our own worst critics.  

When you are feeling low like the world is watching you fail miserably, I hope you remember that you are valuable and you are doing good things.  You are making a positive difference somehow with your existence, even if you don't feel like it in the moment.

Someone is looking at you, yes, but instead of seeing all of the bad hair days and hand-me-down clothes, and screaming tantrum-giving children or jiggly love handles...he or she is looking at your smile, at your attitude, at your power-stride and confidence even when you aren't feeling so great.  They are looking at your charisma and your ability to be calm in moments of crazy going on around you.  They are looking at all of the GOOD that you are sometimes unable to see in yourself.

So when you see someone's great outfit or beautiful smile or sparkling eyes...when you see a parent shushing their toddler to sleep while their family continues dinner without them...when you see someone give change to the man who has no where to go and no family to call home and you see that he still has spirit and hope...remember that the eyes of love that you are looking at THOSE people with...you should use to look at yourself.