Hot Topics     Women's Health    

Stop being so damn hard on yourself



Advice from motivational speaker Peter Shankman

You deserve to be treated kindly by you


Yes, you. 


We all do it. I woke up at 3:45am this morning with the goal of a 90 minute ride on the Peloton before my daughter woke up. 60 minutes of ADHD in bed later, and my 90 minute ride shrunk to a 30 minute ride.

I hated myself for about four seconds, until I remembered that thirty minutes of heavy breathing and hard sweat is still better than zero minutes, and tomorrow is another chance to try again.


I bet right now, at this very moment, you're being hard on yourself for something you have or haven't done. Hear me when I say that being unkind to yourself doesn't help you improve. Rather, it wounds the warrior within you, and feeds the cycle of being unkind to yourself.

Stop it. Chances are, you'd never allow someone to treat a friend, a family member, heck, even a pet, the way you sometimes treat yourself.

You deserve to be treated kindly by you. That's it. That's the sentence.

Much love,

-Peter
Peter Shankman is an entrepreneur, an author and a trainer living in New York City. He is a stay at home dad as well. Check out his blog here.



Other articles by Peter Shankman


  • The value of your time = The value of your mental health

    What is your time worth to you?

    Your mental health and your time are closely related. If you're constantly running around complaining that you don't have enough time, that has a negative effect on every aspect of your life. If there's an easy way to fix that, I can't imagine anything in the world more worth the spending of a few extra dollars. read more »
  • I turn 50 tomorrow

    Here's my birthday wish for you

    (If we've been communicating for longer than a year, you've received this before. But that said, it's good to reread. It's good for all of us to reread every once in a while. (And I added a new one at #10.)) read more »
  • What to do When You're Having "One of those Weeks"...

    Just breathe and realize you can't control everything

    Ever have a truly horrible week, where within the first 12 hours, you know it's not going to get any better? Yeah. That's me this week. read more »
  • Lessons from the African Plains

    You don't know your own power until you use it

    We don't know how strong we are until we're called on to be that strong. We don't know our power until we stand up to a bully, until we stop caring what others think of us, until we demand better service, until we raise our prices, until we stop allowing ourselves to be taken advantage of. read more »
  • Embrace your fear

    Use it to your advantage

    The key is to embrace your fear. To let it wash over you, and to channel the energy, the excitement, and the chemicals it produces, and use them to your advantage. read more »
  • Resolutions Fail. Rituals Succeed.

    Peter talks about succeeding in the new year

    Best selling author, Peter Shankman, thinks resolutions are the stupidest things in the world. They rarely succeed, because we're a society that values "instant wins," and you just don't get them from resolutions. read more »
  • What's your Decision Altitude?

    Don't miss out by being indecisive

    Skydivers have a bunch of interesting traditions. Specific fist-bumps before exiting the plane to keep us safe. Being hit by a pie after your 100th jump. But one of them is deadly serious. It's called "decision altitude." What is yours? read more »
  • Turn your weakness into a badge of honor

    Start thinking of them as gifts

    Stop thinking of your weaknesses as weaknesses. Start thinking of them as gifts. Because if you allow them to be, that's exactly what they are. read more »
  • Never Change to Match Your Surroundings

    Just be you

    Peter Shankman talks about driving home a lesson in being yourself with his daughter. read more »
  • Don't be afraid to fail

    Success often comes on the heels of failure

    Peter Shankman, the top keynote speaker in marketing, brand building, social media and customer service, talks about his failures and successes. read more »