Stop wearing your flaws on your sleeve

Everybody has flaws and everybody has those days where they want to curl up into a tiny ball because of them - even those (super annoying) almost over-the-top people who seem to always be over the moon about something. I'm just bitter really - how do you be so confident all the time? Teach me. Some are just better at hiding them than others. Sadly, I've worn mine on my sleeve my whole life. I'm the most self-critical person I know. If I make a mistake or embarrass myself in any way (every day then, basically) I'll spend the next two days overthinking it; or if somebody tells me I'm looking nice I immediately shut down and assume they're lying because for that second, I'm convinced I'm the ugliest person alive. And that's crazy. When did we all become so obsessed with perfection?

Don't get me wrong, I have a list of flaws the length of my arm and there's nobody who's more self-conscious than me. I don't like the sound of my own voice (which in itself is ridiculous - you never truly hear it the way everyone else does anyway;) I see so many things wrong with my face that I just don't feel comfortable without having at least my base of skin make-up on, and don't get me started on the rest of my body. I bet you I could think of something wrong with each bit of it.

And it goes beyond my appearance - I'm hypoglycemic which means I have to constantly think about my sugar intake, as well as making sure I have enough sugar to prevent dizzy spells and blackouts (this is where my glucose tablets are lifesavers) - I mean, it's not something that's going to kill me, but it's just an extra hassle to add to my already busy day. It would be great to walk up a flight of stairs without feeling like my chest is about to explode from asthma, too. And let's not even mention my absolute lack of social skills. My shyness has stopped me doing so many things in the past - and it's been something that I've felt so ashamed of ever since I was a little girl.

But hey, every single one of them are okay. I wouldn't be me without them. I mean, think about it - how boring would life be if everybody walked around looking like something that's been edited the hell out of on Photoshop? It's not a good look anyway - something you might consider to be your biggest downfall might be somebody else's favourite thing about you. And all those other things? Well, they're just personality traits that I'm going to have to live with. Imagine if shyness wasn't a thing and everybody was like that weirdo who tries to start a conversation with you on the train. Ew. Chaos. But in all seriousness - there's worse things to be than shy, right?

There's absolutely zero point in comparing yourself to someone else. Looks-wise or anything-wise, because they'll have their own worries no matter how confident they act. I'm still not a walking confidence machine and I doubt I ever fully will be - but I have noticed a slight boost in my confidence over time, and that's because I've learned that you can't expect other people to give it to you. It has to come from you. The amount of compliments somebody gives will mean nothing if you can't even believe that they mean it. The secret is learning how to balance recognising what your insecurities are and knowing how to turn them into a positive - (which is much easier said than done, I know,) but the more you work on your self-confidence, the more satisfied you feel when you start to see the improvements. Take it from the world's most perfect imperfectionist ever. So let's stop demonising our flaws and start celebrating them instead, yeah?

Katie X