Think Of The Good Stuff

Mariam Naeem
3 min readJul 22, 2021
Photo by MARK ADRIANE on Unsplash

I’ve seen people struggle from time to time with accepting themselves and being comfortable in their own skin.

I understand that. I used to be one of them. I still occasionally feel a little like an impostor, sometimes I feel I shouldn’t be writing things like this or giving any sort of advice. You would say I’m not exactly one to talk…

But I will talk. I must. If only to let people know that it’s okay not to feel comfortable until they do. It’s a moment of exploration isn’t it? We’re trying to figure out who we are and where we fit in. But you can’t discover who you truly are by feeling like you have to adhere to other people’s “image” of you.

Give yourself the freedom to explore what you like in terms of clothes, hairstyles, body, speech, thoughts, opinions etc. You’re only going to find YOU when you stop following everyone else’s footsteps and create your own.

It’s just a moment of negativity we have when we face ourselves in the mirror but sometimes you have to look to SEE. How are you going to know who you are if you refuse to face yourself? Be bold. Stand tall in the mirror. Don’t shy away from the eyes staring back at you.

We can only discover ourselves if we allow ourselves time to grow. Time to think. Time to try different things before you settle on what FITS who you are. My own journey has been one full of anxiety and stress…until I started going to the gym.

Not for the sake of having a better body, but having a better mind. The focus is clearer. The discipline is present. My choices are more straightforward than they used to be. I remember before being serious about the gym I’d make the worst possible decisions. Drink? Yeah, sure. Go back to an ex? Whoops, didn’t mean to. Make somebody upset? I’m really sorry I did.

You need to focus on trying to be the person you WANT to be. You want to be a happy person? Then despite your hardships, love, smile and forgive. You want to be more disciplined? Create a routine. A simple daily routine will improve the quality of your life and help to give you the laser-sharp focus you desire. Just don’t let yourself get stuck in any kind of rut. Make it a routine that takes care of you and benefits you as well as providing you with the time to be able to do other things.

Well, it’s all about your attitude to accepting yourself isn’t it. Are you willing? Will you try to be easier on yourself? You don’t have to punish yourself because you feel unworthy, because you don’t know who you are. You are WORTHY. You’re worthy because you’re still discovering yourself and along the way you’re learning things about yourself you would never have realised before.

Give yourself time. You can love you.

If you enjoyed this piece, then please share, clap or provide feedback! I appreciate each and every one of you! This piece is for day 22 of Jumpstart July, a challenge from me to me to write a piece a day, whether that be an article, short story or poem! Fun times!!

Mariam Naeem

Long-term overthinker, short-term procrastinator