“Let your scars show your strength and let your soul lead the way.”
—Nancy Salmeron
“Somewhere inside of us we are all broken,” I told a woman who approached me after my presentation last week and wanted to know how to overcome pain.
“Nobody is exempt from the pain and suffering that puts dents and cracks in our souls,” I shared. “You may assume that I am a complete human being, because I inspire and encourage others to live their greatest potential, but I too have scars from betrayal and difficult moments in my life. The only difference between someone who dwells on their scars and me is that I choose to see the beauty in putting myself back together. I don’t focus on my scars as injuries that happened to me. I see my scars as wounds that I overcame and healed from. Everything is perfect, you see. Don’t ignore why you have your scars, but don’t dwell on or wish you didn’t have them either. Those scars that others in your life gave you made the beautiful you. My only advice is to decide what you are going to focus on. Are you going to play the victim or are you going to rise above the pain and suffering? Will you let courage show you the beauty of your scars and how those scars remind you of your inner warrior? The beauty of life is that you can make choices. The choice I want you to make is to let your scars show you that you are a warrior and not a victim.”
“Thank you for reminding me that my scars have made me strong,” she said and walked away.
Our scars should build us into our greatest selves. Our scars should never hold us back or take us away from our fullest potential. But how do we allow our scars to show us our strength? How do we focus on the beauty of putting ourselves back together after life’s hardships? To live fully you must not seek either to avoid scars or to dwell on them. You must learn to appreciate and love them. Scars show how strong and fearless you were in overcoming injuries, but only when you focus on the lessons they taught. Today, let’s focus not only on how to embrace your scars but on how to learn from them as well.
Do not let life’s scars make you a victim.
Life is not fair. You are wounded. It hurts and leaves you with scars. Don’t dwell on the betrayals or life’s hardships. Don’t blame others for your scars. Ask yourself how you contributed to the hurtful situations. Break free from the “poor me” mentality by seeing your scars as lessons learned. Focus on everything you learned so you will not face that situation again. The scars that others in life cause you should not give you bragging rights either. That will only bring out the “poor me” mentality. Your scars are there to remind you of how amazing you were at dealing with difficult situations, not to show off.
Be grateful to those who caused your scars.
I believe that showing gratitude for everything that comes into your life brings you many blessings. I know it’s hard to imagine that you could ever be grateful for people who brought you pain or disappointment, but they have contributed to you becoming your greatest self. However, this happens only if you learn the lessons from your pain and don’t repeat your mistakes. Learn to forgive those who wounded you, and if you need to, let them go.
Scars can show you your inner warrior.
I believe that your scars can remind you of your strength. They remind you of the life battles you have overcome and how you are still standing. Your scars will build self-confidence if you do not play the victim. Let your inner warrior come out by being proud of your scars, which remind you that you can overcome and conquer anything!
Life is not only about weathering and overcoming the storms but also about learning what those storms taught you. Yes, those storms may have caused you scars, but those scars show your strength. Embrace, but don’t dwell on your scars. Use them as a reminder of what you have learned and overcome. Keep on putting one foot in front of the other. Remind yourself that you may be a survivor of difficult life events, but you do not need to be a victim. Learn from the pain, but never dwell in self-pity. Remember this my fearless warrior—those wounds that brought you agony and discomfort have transformed you into something beautiful and amazing. Your scars show that your injuries did not kill you. They show that you met your inner warrior, overcame, and survived. Let your scars be your shield and let your soul lead the way! Until next time, Believe. Change. Become.
Sending many blessings and much love your way!
Nancy😊