2020 – what a ride!  It would be easy to slip into a ‘woe is me’ mentality. But I have decided to look at the positive. We have 3 months left of this horrendous year to turn it into something great!

One of the most inspirational women to me is Oprah Winfrey and hearing her insights and views on life and kindness has truly inspired me to be kind.  To myself first, and then to others.

Most people are taught from an early age that failure is the end, that if you fail you are a loser.  I choose to believe that failure is a great teacher, and it is not how many times we fall, but how many times we get back up that makes us the people we were destined to be.

Another sad reality is the perception that asking for help is a weakness.  Again, I am challenging this belief.  I now believe that asking for help shows true character.  We cannot do it all, and when we fall, it is so easy to beat ourselves up.  We do not have to do everything alone – asking for help is one of the best forms of self-care.

Kindness leads to greatness

Being kind seems like a simple life philosophy, but have you ever heard your internal dialogue?  I know for me, when I fail or fall, my self-talk immediately goes to ‘You are so stupid and naive’, ‘No one will ever love you’, etc etc etc.

Now, if your best friend spoke about themselves like that in front of you, what would you say to them?  I know that I would not stand for it.  I would tell them all the things that make them the person I know and love.  So why do we sabotage ourselves?

We have been conditioned to believe that failure is not an option and that we are meant to know everything about what we are doing in life.  As Oprah says, ‘You don’t know, what you don’t know’.  And I think keeping an innocent inquisitiveness is what will ultimately lead to our happiness.  We wouldn’t expect our children to know their schoolwork until it’s been taught to them, so why do we have ridiculous standards for ourselves?

Being kind to yourself is the first step in forgiving and moving on from whatever has been holding you back in the past.  We cannot change what has happened, but we can decide if we are going to get up and keep on keeping on.

I am teaching my children that if they are kind and have a sense of humour they will go far and can do anything.  Being kind is about:

• How we talk to ourselves about ourselves
• Forgiving our past mistakes
• Knowing that we are imperfectly perfect
• Asking for help before we drown

If we focus on being kind instead of swearing at the taxi driver who has just cut you off or saying positive words to yourself every day instead of berating yourself for any and all mistakes, the world will be a better place.

Oprah quoted Newtons Law in one of her talks.  For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction – what she goes on to explain is that what we put out is what we get back.  Whether you believe it or not, she says. So before swearing at that taxi driver, try remembering that he is pushing to get food on the table for his family.  Before berating yourself, remember that you tried and that you cannot know everything about everything.

So, remember to be #KindToYou

It is also Teachers Day and Boss’ Day this month, so why not be kind to them and treat them to our October promotion.

We also have some exciting announcements in the next few weeks, so keep your eyes peeled to our social media pages!

Have a lekker October!

Love, Tania