Nurture yourself, nurture the world around you

There has been a surge in the number of people trying to “find themselves” through actions that may seem selfish and ignorant of the emotions and progress of others, but that’s not true in every case. For the most part, when you do anything good for yourself which can range from your personal relationships to your workplace, you are rewarding yourself first, then those around you. You may then begin to feel appreciation for their presence more.

Scenario 1

When you take a stand at work for your ideas, you are not being arrogant or dismissive of others’ ideas, but rather you are doing what you feel is best for your organisation. In this case, you are actually trying to help your employers to be more effective and efficient. If they do not see it that way, it is important to understand that such a culture is toxic to your growth. The longer you stay where you are not heard, there is a possibility of your thoughts and actions becoming toxic due to constant rejections. It may cause you to develop negative thinking patterns and lower your own self-esteem. There are ways to negotiate or convince them to see the value as you see it in your ideas, but if you are not someone with patience, you should seek a better opportunity for yourself.

Scenario 2

When a relationship takes a turn for the worst, we often tend to forget the good times, the times we helped each other as one and the goals that we had planned as a team. Other times, we tend to forget the unnecessary struggles each person in the relationship had to bear, the tears that could have been avoided and the dreams that were very real that had to be foregone. In both cases, there is a sense of regret and resentment towards one another. This applies to all relationships, with your family, your partner, your colleagues and even with your friends. When we cannot let go for the good of all involved, we create an environment that worships division, fosters lack of care for one another, encourages shaming or blaming the other person or a group of people. This is the way to put yourself in harms way, and this ultimately leads to a destructive mindset.

We are here to make an impact. By starting with ourselves we are able to attract people who would mirror this to us. When you let go of a habit that hurts others, you stop hurting yourself. When you practice good habits by working towards having more open and healthier relationships for yourself, it benefits all involved in the process.

When you let go of a toxic organisation because you don’t like their ways and they don’t appreciate you, that organisation too lets go of someone who doesn’t believe in their culture.

There are always two sides of a story. Although we acknowledge this phase as a bystander, we do not practice it for ourselves.

You are enough. We are enough but only for ourselves and that should always be enough.

Move away from those people / jobs that do not benefit you without thinking of the consequences because you are truly not benefiting from them through non-action and lack of internal commitment. You have the right to be happy, and so do others.

Adapting this mindset and way of life is difficult because of what you are taught. It is only through personal growth of this magnitude, will we as a society, a planet survive, thrive and work towards the betterment of each other by working on ourselves.

When we nourish and nurture our inner world with love and respect to put ourselves first, we nourish and nurture the world at large.