Hey guys!
Welcome to the Simplify Your Life Podcast.
It's Coach Simona and I'm glad you decided
to tune in.
What's up, everyone?
In today's podcast episode, we're going to
talk about accepting your dark side and I
will give you 3 tips on how to embrace your
dark side.
Now, let's jump right into it.
Let me paint you a picture.
Remember that time you wanted to act rational,
but something took over you and you just couldn’t
help yourself?
That time when you offended your child, lost
your temper at work, or broke your diet and
went on an eating spree?
That’s your ‘dark side’ (also called
‘shadow’) talking.
Your shadow is that deep and dark place inside
your own mind.
The place of fears, issues, and repressed
experiences from your past.
The one you refuse to admit even exists.
But, until you accept it, it will continue
to take over.
So, in today's podcast episode, we’ll talk about your
shadow self
and how to not let it get in your way.
My first tip is to, actually, realize what your dark side really means.
Here is what your dark side (also known as
‘The Shadow Self’) means according to
Carl Jung, one of the most prominent psychiatrists
and psychoanalysts of all time:
“The Shadow Self is an archetype that forms
part of the unconscious mind and is composed
of repressed ideas, instincts, impulses, weaknesses,
desires, and embarrassing fears.”
In other words, your shadow is that dark part
of yourself that you don’t really want to
associate yourself with.
Now, what are you supposed to do with your dark side?
Here comes my second tip:
As counterintuitive as it may seem,
The only way to deal with your own darkness
is to accept it.
By suppressing your thoughts, desires, and
fears, you create a shallow self that you
present to the world, which is not entirely
you.
Think of it as a ‘better’ version of yourself
that you can’t really keep up with.
Because, at the end of the day, you’re human
— just like everyone else.
Now, the 'persona’ is the face you present
to the world, your ideal self, the way you
want to be perceived by other people.
If you focus on feeding the ‘perfect’
part of you, you will inevitably fail.
This will happen because you can’t develop
only the ‘presentable’ part of yourself,
you have to accept both sides of the coin.
But how exactly are you going to do that?
Knowing yourself is the best way to achieve
success, happiness, and peace in your life.
By acknowledging the dark parts of yourself,
you open the door to your deepest fears and
negative experiences in a way that sets them
— and you — free from repression.
Accepting your shadow is the only path to
self-love.
You can’t love the parts of yourself that
you find suitable and discard the ones that
you wouldn’t want to be associated with.
Realize that you need to appreciate and accept
every little detail about your personality
and appearance.
One of the things I tell my clients is to
take a good look at themselves in the mirror.
Not judging, not trying to change anything.
Just observing the person who’s looking
them straight in the eye.
This person is the most important and valuable
person in the whole world because
they create their own reality.
Another technique is to make a list of all
the things you don’t like about your personality
and try to reframe them in a positive way.
It’s all about the perspective.
Let me give you an example: “I hate myself
for getting angry easily and fussing about
stupid things” can be substituted with
"I’m temperamental
and sensitive, and sometimes I become easily irritated.''
I accept and love myself as I am.”
There are a lot of ways to accept your dark
side.
We are all different from each other and,
unfortunately, there’s no such thing as
a universal formula to change the way you
perceive yourself.
Now, how will you know when you've made it?
One of the best ways to tell if you’re getting there
is to be honest about your feelings.
If you experience negative feelings and you’re
conscious about what provoked them,
it’s safe to say that you are aware of your dark
side and don’t try to hide it anymore.
Another sign of it working is that you don’t
fall into the old negative thought patterns
and you're aware of your cognitive biases.
Actually, if you haven't listened to the previous episode on the most common cognitive biases,
I will leave a link below.
And I also have a free cheat sheet for you, guys, so you can download it from the link below
or simply visit
BIT.LY/15BIASES
Each and every one of us is different
but there is one thing we have in common:
when you accept your dark side, you feel better
about yourself, your self-confidence is improved
and you change your perspective towards life.
The moment you realize that life is neither
good nor bad is the moment you will start
taking responsibility for your own actions and finally accept
yourself.
Now, I want to hear from you:
How do you deal with your dark side?
Have you accepted it?
Let me know in the comments below.
Thank you so much for listening!
If you liked this episode, please like it,
and subscribe to my channel if you don't want
to miss out on my weekly podcast episodes.
I love you guys, and I will talk to you in
the next one.
Bye!
