I want to follow up a bit on my January dLife Viewpoints column. I wrote about being too hard on myself, which is something I think many of us can say, and all of us have probably heard.
I’ve heard it from so many people in so many different places around so many different circumstances.
“Scott – stuff happens, you’re being too hard on yourself”, or “it’s not your fault, quit being so hard on yourself”, and “don’t be so hard on yourself, we can’t get it right all the time”.
So I’ve been thinking about this for a while. It is true, and not. I recognize that in many places I need to love myself more, and I’m often reminded of that when reading blogs like “Aiming for Grace“, “Amazing Grace“, and “Diabetes Stories“, just to name a few. Those special bloggers often have a real knack for tapping into the essence of honoring and respecting the inner need for compassion.
But isn’t there also a place for a sort of “tough love”? I mean, I could compassionately love myself right into poor(er) diabetes management couldn’t I?
I personally feel a lot of conflict between the need to be kind of tough on myself, in a healthy way, versus beating myself up and feeling bad in an unhealthy way. It is hard to find the balance between the two! And maybe that line is not always in the same place? I suppose there are times when you need to be a little more strict, and times when you need to be a little more compassionate. There is a lot to this little internal dialogue…
It’s kind of like insulin in that regard, yes? Now all I need is a meter that can help me know when and how much I need!
