How Realizing My Inner Power Led To Self-Love And Better Health

Every single one of us has power within us. There are times, though, when we don’t feel this in the slightest and may feel the opposite. By inner power, I mean realizing that you have what it takes to overcome adversity, hardship and/or heartache or whatever it is you may be struggling to overcome. You have the resources within you and the ability to become much healthier through self-love practices.

I’m going to be blunt and say, for a lot of years, I hated myself, health, my conditions and how anxiety and depression used to run my life. Back in the day, I used to allow people and situations out of my control to tear me down or belittle me. Since I have these health struggles, I wrongfully believed that I didn’t possess the abilities to live my best life. It was a faulty belief and one only I can blame me for believing.

For twenty-four years, I didn’t know I had this genetic disorder, and not having a diagnosis or answer to my mysterious symptoms created unnecessary stress and chaos. You’ve probably never met another individual who has heart and lung disease, chronic pain, and a host of other diseases associated with this disorder. We’ve all got something we’re missing from our lives and I’m missing genes from my twenty-second chromosome in a specific region responsible for all kinds of body systems. It has taken thirty years to accept this condition I have, but some days, symptoms attempt to overthrow and overpower me.

Notice I used the word attempt — the symptoms, while they seem consuming, I know they don’t have power over me. Half of the books and articles I’ve written, I’ve been either bed-ridden in chronic pain or having a bundle of health issues demanding that I remain down. There are times when I feel so bogged down, and when I get to that point, I just create something. No matter what I’m feeling or how my symptoms are, I pull out an art project and do it until it’s finished.

There are other days when my anxiety seems to push and pull me in a ton of different directions and have to refocus and regroup. This is where meditation has proved its effectiveness all the days, weeks and months I’ve done it. But I’ll be honest again and say anxiety has a lot of power, and I’ve had to work at it and with it. Even during those early mornings or evenings after I’ve done my meditations, I’ll get restless and have the tendency to overwork and get overstimulated.

Throughout the years, as I’ve gone through life’s rollercoasters of ups and downs, I’ve learned how to harness my power and how, in doing so, this has led to more practices of self-love and self-care. This might sound strange, but I have a hard time taking vacations and doing nothing. Since I have health issues and work from home, I’ve felt that if I spent a day doing nothing, then I was wasting it. That way of thinking, I realized, wasn’t working for me and also wasn’t true.

Self-care comes from a place of self-love, and it’s how you can take power back. Simply caring for yourself or doing something enriching puts you back in the driver’s seat of your life. Taking breaks, stepping away from the stress of work and doing something for your health that promotes healing, like meditation, are some key ingredients for harnessing your strength and realizing the inner power you possess.

It takes practice and patience, I must add, to make wellness a regular routine and see those great results of inner peace, happiness and joy. I’ve done a lot of work on my depression and anxiety and have reached a place where I can be successful in my endeavors without burning out or getting overwhelmed to the point of collapse. By realizing this strength within myself, I’ve grown to accept my health challenges and find ways to feel better. I didn’t do all this on my own. The reason I’ve decided to share these things is to reinforce that we’re all human, we all have limitations, but we all have capabilities to overcome what we feel has more power than us.

Summary

Experience, hardships, adversity, loss and fundamental life struggles is when we may realize how much power we have. If you have any health issue, you’ve most likely dealt with this inner battle and feeling like you’re a fragile weakling. I’ve been there and have realized that if you’re doing your life to the best of your ability, you’ve realized your power and are already on the path towards better health. By being mindful of this fact, this will be enough to motivate and inspire you to be your healthiest self.

For anybody who may need this, if you’re having days when you’re not feeling so strong, know that you are powerful. Once you realize this fact, you’ll be amazed by how much change and how much growth you’ll witness and experience within you. I’ve come to accept this genetic disorder I have, despite not loving how it affects me and my life. It’s now that I’m grateful for these hardships and challenges. Because of life’s various obstacles, I’ve realized that everybody, even me, has resources within themselves to feel better, healthier and happier.

I’d like to shoutout to Donnette Anglin, and add a quote in one of her pieces titled: “Real Growth Can Only Occur When You Learn To Accept Yourself.” From her article: “Until we start accepting ourselves, we will never experience real growth and true happiness.”