I cherish being around people who are totally comfortable with who they are. There always seems to be an aura of love and acceptance that follows these folks around.

 

I think it's because they've figured out one of the biggest secrets to life: The possibility of being loved and accepted grows exponentially when we can truly say we couldn't be more comfortable with ourselves.

 

People like being around those who are comfortable with themselves because they're less threatening. We all feel the need to protect ourselves from threats aimed at our insecurities.

 

Insecurities are like open wounds, and it hurts when people poke¹ at them.

 

It can be exhausting to hang around folks who constantly poke at us just to gain some kind of external validation² through making everyone else feel smaller.

 

My favorite thing about people who are comfortable with themselves is they need no external validation.

 

They have discovered their worth is intrinsic and, by nature, something that cannot be taken away or added to based on what other people think.

 

Ironically enough, this ends up providing comfortable people with more external validation than those who feel they need it most.

 

Because comfortable people's worth comes from within, they see no point in tearing others down. To them, the only sensible way to speak about another is positively³.

 

I guess when you realize your worth comes from within, you might as well build others up rather than tear them down, since their size is of no threat to your sense of self-worth.

 

Plus, it's a lot more fun to speak love to others and watch their eyes glow than it is to hurt someone's feelings for a cheap laugh, anyway.

 

When we become comfortable with ourselves through fully⁴ accepting who we are, we can silence the noise our insecurities make in public situations and become more attuned⁵ to the wonderful reality that unfolds before us.

 

The result is a world with fewer insecurities. To me, that sounds like a better world.

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