If we are honest we know we are our own worst critic. We put ourselves down, we blame ourselves, we feel others are so much better than us and we don’t ever give ourselves praise or credit for what we do. What makes it worse is that we give ourselves permission to enter this mind-set. It is unhealthy and not good to be in it over a period of time.

Our starting point is that we are not perfect and that we have lots of limitations but so does everyone else. The next important step is to believe in what you have to offer. Nobody can do it in quite the way you can. You bring your own unique personality and your colour and energy. You bring something that nobody else can ever bring in the way you do. We need to be more affirming and gentle with ourselves.

What do we achieve by being so hard on ourselves? Absolutely nothing. All the stories in the Gospels are stories where Jesus encouraged, affirmed and helped people to find their niche, their spot, their strength, their blessing and to find the something special that they brought to each day. Jesus encourages, affirms and gives us thumbs up as well, not yesterday or tomorrow or today but in the beauty of this present moment. It is up to us to make the most of it.