5. Don't compare yourself to others. This one was EXTREMELY difficult for me to learn and I'm still guilty to this day of doing this and I have to catch myself. For as long as I can remember, I have always watched the VS Fashion Show, not for the lingerie or even the music (although the Spice Girls performance fulfilled every 90's dream of mine) but to compare myself to these women who to me, at the time, had the ideal body. I would constantly tape pictures from the VS catalogs on my fridge and mirrors in my closet to motivate myself to hopefully look like that. Month would go by where I would eat less and less and workout out more and more and get increasingly frustrated that I was ~VS Angel Quality~ (insert eye roll here). I was truly disordered for a long time and up until recently, I didn't fully accept that I would NEVER look like that, and if I did, I would have been extremely unhealthy. So stop the comparisons and love your body and yourself, because you'll be so much happier.
6. Put yourself out there. I suffer from something I like to call "Resting Bitch Face" and I'm an introvert to boot. Most people that I'm friends with thought that I hated/didn't like them when they first met me because I don't open up to people easily. However, even though I look like Grumpy Cat in human form, I really am a happy person and I do like people (except people who tailgate, you people can eff off). So when I notice someone new in the workplace or am meeting someone outside my circle for the first time, I put on my sorority smile (and I can say that because I was in fact in a sorority), shake their hand and say hi. Doing this has helped me make new friends and helped (sort of) get over my shyness of putting myself out there.
7. Own your shit. Fact: I used to have a really hard time admitting I was wrong. I'm a really stubborn and hard headed person who likes to be right 100% of the time. When I fuck up, I know in my mind I not only let the people around me down, but I let myself down. Blaming others and constantly wanting to be write was going to paralyze my growth as a person, and people will not want to be around you, to put it bluntly. But, I've found that if you own your pitfalls, not only to others, but yourself, it motivates you to become a better person in all aspects of your life. On the flip side of this, being self-deprecating and always blaming yourself for stuff that OTHER PEOPLE have done is just as bad. Don't be afraid to (politely) call them out.
8. Stand up for yourself. Tying into the #7, I have found it essential in life to learn to stand up for yourself, especially being in the military. I HATE confrontation (my mother will try to deny this for ages, but it's true), especially when someone pisses me off or does something that makes me uncomfortable. I like mentally crawl back into my hermit shell and avoid said person at all costs. But I have found that if its a person of value in your life that has wronged you, if they truly are a friend, you can bring up to them what bothered you. 90% of the time your friend/co-worker/significant other/family member will understand, hash it out with you and you both make up. Sometimes, however, you get a bad egg, and it's totally ok to cut those people out of your life (if the situation is repeated or bad enough). I have found that toxic friends and people in life only bring you down with them because they are so unhappy with themselves.
Until next time, stay beautiful!
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