Being Strong Doesn’t Mean You Need to Be Unkind Towards Yourself

Kindness is strength, not weakness

Photo by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash

“Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.” — Henry James

I finally took a much-needed step towards my mental healing and I went to see a therapist. The last few years, I have been through hell and back, holding my head up high, gritting my teeth, pushing myself through everything — there was no other way.

When you have responsibilities, quitting is simply not an option. Going forward is not only necessary but it’s the only way. So, you just go. You suffer, you cry, you hurt — but breaking down is not a choice. One foot after the other. One day at a time. Just one more step. Just one more.

But it’s never-ending. The struggle is real — every day. And even if you look fine from the outside, it can feel tough.

My year didn’t start too well. Looking at it objectively from the outside, it did: new projects, success with writing, happy and healthy kids. The whole pretty picture. I knew it was good, it just didn’t feel good.

Some days I needed an extra-human effort to get out of bed and start the day by sending my kids to school. Sometimes most of my effort went not to break down…