Things My Inner Child Needs to Hear

You are capable of making good decisions. Even if you make poor decisions, you are able to learn from them and make better decisions in the future. You are not defined by your poorest choices.

You know what’s best for you because you spend the most time with you. The relationship you have with yourself is sacred. There are answers only you can find for yourself, questions only you can ask of yourself, and all the resources are within you.

You deserve joy for the sake of joy. Not all rewards must be earned. Sometimes bad behavior doesn’t need to be punished as much as it needs to be forgiven. You deserve the grace you give to others. You deserve room to make mistakes and still be treated with respect, because everyone you respect has made plenty of mistakes.

Your truth is sacred and deserves to be heard. There are those who want to hear it and hold space for it, for you. Telling the truth is not an admittance of sin but an exclamation of your humanity.

Punishment is rarely ever the best course to changed behavior. Punishing yourself into improving does not work. You can discipline yourself with love and care, not from a place of shame and guilt. Changing your behavior doesn’t have to mean that you were doing something wrong in the first place.

Your body is your home; it must be treated with respect. It is not a piece of clay to be molded into a shape deemed more useful or desirable. It is where you live. This relationship is also sacred, because nobody else will ever live in your body as long as you will. Take the time to develop a close bond with your home and learn how to treat it with care.

The way adults treat you has a lot more to do with them than it has to do with you. This will always be true. You still deserve to be treated with respect. It isn’t your job to be the bigger person when adults are hurting you.

You are not a problem that needs to be solved. You are a person who needs to be understood.