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Being Comfortable with Being Yourself

Get to know yourself first

Start out small and dive deeper as you get more comfortable with yourself. Figure out what personality traits make you up – Are you funny? Passionate? Charming? Personality traits give you a baseline of what makes you, YOU. Find balance in your personality traits and pay attention to what parts you value most.

Take time to reflect or your values

Remember, our personality traits can change throughout life. So can our values. What you might stand for one day can change the next day. Sometimes you may even stand for opposite things or more than one thing. Human beings are complex and changing beliefs can happen. What are some of your values?

Don’t focus on the past you

Our past shouldn’t define who will become in the future. You may be a totally different person in 5, 10, and 15 plus years from now. Remember what you can learn from and shape your future how you want to.

Do not compare yourself to others

It can be very hard to do in such a fast paced world, where we feel pressure to compare ourselves to look or act a certain way. Media and social pressures can make it hard not to compare ourselves, but it’s best to focus on being you. No good comes from being something you’re not.

Be comfortable in your own skin

Being okay with who you are and want to be will feel better. Notice who you surround yourself with. Are those people more positive or negative? Do they energize or drain you? Try to surround yourself with people who have healthy outlooks on life.

Also, make time to practice self-care and wellness in your life. The more healthy habits you have, the better you will feel about yourself.

Continue to practice self-awareness

Keep working to figure out yourself; life is a marathon, not a sprint. It will take time and effort to truly understand who you are, but being able to love yourself is just the first step to doing that. Life is also hard, and there may be many bumps in the road, but remember to look for support when you need it. Turn to friends, loved ones, and even your community - we are here to help if you ever need it: teens@tubman.org.