Without one conversation with anybody every single area of my life has changed from me making the decision to learn to love myself from the inside out
I have gone from 35 years suffering a destructive relationship with my mother, agonising a similar relationship with my eldest daughter, to going on holiday with my parents this year and my eldest daughter moving back home to live with us in Dubai. And it only gets better, the 28-year marriage with my husband has gone to a much deeper level and we have both decided to leave Dubai next year and return to England to live near Mum and Dad.
And all because I decided that I would take that step to change me.
We spend our lives subconsciously trying to change others, trying to get others to see things from our perspective, trying to make others understand. But what we should really be doing is to look inside of ourselves; learning to love who we really are and make the changes from within.
My story is about the relationship with my mother and yours might be similar? Did you know that the mother-daughter relationship is one of the most intense relationships you will ever experience?
This relationship is so powerful that it affects the interaction with your partner, your children, your friends and yourself. This incredible bond, which was once based on love, can turn to anger, resentment and guilt ruining your whole life.When we try and change things from the ‘outside’ it can end up looking like this.
Ask yourself these questions right now – are you desperately trying to:
seek someone’s approval,strive for their acceptance,win their praise,gain their acknowledgementyearn for that warmthcrave their love only to be disappointed in every effort you makeand it just never comes?
With all of this trying and needing are you left:angryresentfuldesperateexhaustedwith such low self-esteemfeeling worthlesswith utter guiltwhich ends up affecting every area of your life?
For over 35 years I was desperately seeking my mother’s approval, her affection, her warmth and love. I tried everything possible only to be continually disappointed every time, diminishing my self-worth as I truly began to believe how useless I really was.
I was stunned, shocked and devastated to be told my mother didn’t love me and would never change so I had to make a choice, have nothing more to do with my mother OR I WOULD CHANGE MYSELF.
Unfortunately, subconscious traits from my mother reared their ugly heads through and affected the relationship between my eldest daughter, Charlotte and myself. I ended up controlling my daughter, the very thing I wanted to avoid, destroying any trust we had built up. I was devastated because this was the exact opposite of what I wanted.How could this be?
So history was repeating itself and I felt worse than ever. I had no idea what to do but I did the bravest thing I have ever done in my life….I asked for help.
And with the right help I embarked upon my own self-healing journey and totally alone I changed myself, I changed the perspective of my history without a single conversation with my mother. I released every negative emotion inside of me at such a cellular level that the change has been permanent.
The relationship with both my mother and Charlotte became peaceful and joyous; as I understood I didn’t need anything from either of them so today I am continually being filled with warmth, love and affection.
The beauty of my life now is I ‘see’ things so differently, I ‘see’ mum as a tenacious, lively, helpful, loving woman who does a huge amount for her community – what happened to all of the anger, the deep resentment, the guilt and the hatred towards her?
I ‘see’ Charlotte as an amazing young woman, developing her own skills, becoming a loving and warm person who enjoys life. What happened to the resentment towards her, the needing to control her every move, the wanting her to love me in a certain way?
Here are a few tips to start your healing journey – loving yourself from the inside out.
STOP TRYING to – make things work, make things better, please that person, say the ‘right’ things, ‘do’ the ‘right’ things as it doesn’t work. You may have been trying this for years and feel even more disappointed.
Have NO EXPECTATION from this person – when you phone them do not expect them to respond in a certain way, do not expect them to be happy for you, hug you, cheer you on or be interested in anything you have to say. When you stop the expectation you also protect yourself from being disappointed.
Understand that you DO NOT NEED anything from this person – YOU ARE ENOUGH. You really do not need their affection, their praise, their validation, their approval or their love because you are enough.
The HEALING is all about YOU. For perhaps the first time in your life put yourself first, which means taking time for you, meeting your needs, meeting your own expectations, making you feel good. You’ve probably even forgotten how to do this after all of these years.
The healing process is one of acceptance of whom you are, letting go of the lack of need for anyone’s love in any form, re-writing the perspective of your past and finally the FORGIVENESS for both you and this person.
We all deserve a life of peace and fulfilment – we all have a choice in life, will you be the one to make that change? Will you change from the inside out to find love and affection?
- Ladies, come & join us in our wonderful caring, nonjudgmental FB group - ‘Let’s Talk Relationships & Life’ - https://www.facebook.com/groups/relationshipsandlife/. Can't wait to meet you!
- Take our Relationship Quiz to see where you are in your relationship - https://louisearmstrong.clickfunnels.com/relationship-quiz.
- Book a half hour friendly chat here: http://www.louise-armstrong.com/contact-2/
- Or take a look around my website here: http://www.louise-armstrong.com/
