Be Gentle With Yourself, You're Doing The Best You Can

                                                                                        Images from Pinterest

I was roaming through Pinterest today and was looking in my 'Words'  board and I saw these two quotes. The quote I focused on mostly was 'Be gentle with yourself, you're doing the best you can'. After reading this I thought I would write this post to give some of you (hopefully) a piece of advice.

I think that sometimes we as human beings put too much pressure on ourselves to be perfect. To be the person who idolises someone because they have the perfect body and they want to become just like them. Or you want to be the most perfect student who gets top grades all the time, because you're scared that if you fail, or don't get that B/A you've been striving for you won't do well. Yes grades are important of course, they will determine how you do in life, and that's scary, but we have to realise that sometimes we just need to slow down and stop piling pressure onto ourselves because we think we're 'not doing the best we can'.

Now I'm going to tell you this and we have all heard it all before but, no one, and I mean no one is perfect. We can try but we are never going to be the most perfect person in the world. Hear this though, even though none of us are perfect or the most perfect person in the world, we are perfect in our own little ways on the inside and through what we do. Whether it be you're good at sport, you like reading, you take part in charity work, or you just enjoy spending your days lounging out on the sofa watching endless amounts of How I Met Your Mother, these little tiny things make us perfect, and make us who we are.
I am not saying that I have never felt pressurised, or felt like I will never be perfect, because I have had those days, and yes they suck. We have all had the days where we haven't felt good about ourselves, or have been disappointed due to the fact that we didn't get that A we strived for in Science class. I get it, I get that.

What I am trying to say is just like what it says in this quote, be gentle and kind and sincere with yourself. You are trying, and that is all that matters. You are doing the best you can, and if you are thinking that your best is never enough. Then it is enough. If you're currently studying for your GCSE exams, or your A-Level exams, or you have said goodbye to those a couple of years ago then you know what I am trying to say. 

Exam season is an extremely hard time where yes you are going to be putting a lot of pressure on yourself, and you are going to be having a lot of pressure put on your back by parents and teachers, but if you find a way to deal with that pressure, and not overload yourself with it so it makes you feel like you're not doing enough, stop it. Stop making yourself go crazy about the things that are driving you mad with stress and pressure. I have done it, and I keep telling myself not to do it, because secretly all of the things we need to learn, or do, or take part in are already there in ya' noggin (brain), and you know that you can do it. You know that you can sit down and write about what happened in World War II, you know that you will be able to clean you car and make it look fabulous, you know that you can commit to the charity work you have been stressing over because you know it will pay off.

'If you think happy. Be Happy'. When you think happy and then... well be happy you will feel so much better, the stress that was making you sad and making you have little breakdowns will fold away, and you will be able to cope and commit to these tasks a whole lot easier. Putting stress on yourself doesn't feel nice, none of us like to go through these mini breakdowns we have, and also, if you're putting too much stress on yourself 1) It will make you sad, and 2) It could make you ill. Getting ill from too much stress and pressure isn't good and it is a good sign that you need to slow down the rodeo and be gentle and kind to yourself.

So, the next time you go to sit down and revise for that Maths exam, sit down and think, 'Yeah an A grade would be nice, but I'm going to do the best I can, and if I come out with a B or even a C instead of an A I will be as sure as William wanted to marry Kate that I will be happy about it'. Or the next time you go to work or go to commit to another task, don't see it as a chore and don't put lots of pressure on yourself, just go have fun and love what you do, because that will make life a whole lot brighter.

Now, just to make sure, I am no way putting across that we shouldn't work hard and not strive to do our best, because we should strive to do our best,  but, don't make it control your life and stress you out to the point you think your head might explode.

If you're going through a pretty hard or stressful time right now, just be kind to yourself and look after your body. It will do you a whole lot of good rather than if you stress yourself out. I wish you good luck to whatever you may have to take part in soon, and please remember that you are doing great.