I recently heard some good advice and it really struck a cord with me. There is no harder there is just hard! Stop trying to convey to people why your life is harder than theirs. It isn’t a contest! Stop living in a world where you are constantly comparing yourself to others. Just live and for the love of God don’t apologize to anyone for being true to yourself!

None of us can actually live in anyone else’s shoes so we can’t ever truly understand how things wear on anyone else. This doesn’t mean we can’t be empathetic and caring. What it does mean is that you have no right to tell someone your hard is harder then their hard!

At the same time realize that being empathetic means not comparing apples to oranges! Don’t tell someone who just had their leg amputated that you know how they feel because last summer you broke your leg! Don’t pretend to have all the answers to a situation you know nothing about.

Don’t throw stones in your house of glass because eventually you will find yourself standing in the cold all alone!

Don’t lie or twist a story to make yourself a hero , eventually your true colors will be glaringly obvious to everyone else even if you are still blind to them!

You maybe wondering what all of this has to do with Thankful Thursday! Well tonight I would like to tell you how thankful I am that I’ve learned to be true to myself.

I am thankful that I am not a door mat for others. I am thankful I have enough self worth to stand up for my beliefs and challenge those who try to make me feel like less of a person!

I am thankful I am who I am. I am unapologetic for being me! I love me and while I know I am not perfect I do not need to justify myself to anyone! I know I am far from perfect and that is okay because anyone who is real admits they aren’t perfect.

I am thankful that my self-worth is strong enough to weather the storms of life and that my character is strong enough to stand up for what is right and apologize to those I have harmed unnecessarily. I refuse to be a pawn in anyone else’s dirty games! I respect myself enough to walk away from toxic people and situations and not look back.

Live with purpose not with malice and remember others may cast stones about you but their words cannot take away your truths. Their opinions of you don’t make you, your opinions of you make you.