You’ve heard it all over the personal development world: you need to love yourself. But what if you’re struggling to love all aspects of yourself and who you are? We’re taught to fit ourselves into various boxes in order to be acceptable to others – but this creates a cycle of internal shame, because we feel like we never measure up. 

Here’s the good news: What you’re experiencing is called a shame cycle, where you’re bouncing between self-criticism and shame about who you are as a person. At this stage in your journey, it’s time to start practicing self-acceptance: looking at those messy parts of yourself, viewing them with compassion, and accepting yourself as imperfectly human.

• Practicing acceptance is the focus in this stage. Take time to identify the parts of yourself you’ve been criticizing, and start empathizing with those parts of yourself. 
• Grab a notebook and draw a vertical line down the middle of the page. On the left-hand side, write down 3 things you judge yourself for. On the right-hand side, describe how this can be viewed in a neutral or positive way.
• To take this work further, use discount code ACCEPT for 20% off the Become Your Own Hype Girl Workbook.