Read this carefully: You're only human.

Now read it again. Let it sink in.

We make mistakes, we fall into bad habits, we break out, we gain weight, we say things we don't mean — the list can go on and on! All of this is normal and completely expected. No one is without flaws, whether it is visible or not. Nobody can be completely put together one hundred percent of the time. No matter how well-adjusted or mature you think you are, you will not be perfect. Guess what? That's OK.

Far too often we beat ourselves up because we don't meet such high standards that we set for ourselves. When we don't achieve something immediately, we talk down to ourselves. When we make a mistake, we feel so embarrassed or stupid that it keeps us from trying again or even just moving on. We're far more brutal and vicious with ourselves than we ever would be with someone else if they were in our shoes.

There's nothing wrong with expecting more from yourself or setting goals that you want to achieve. It becomes a problem when you start tearing yourself apart over things that are unattainable or unrealistic; for instance, it's an amazing goal to want to get in shape or to move up in your line of work, but it's completely impractical to expect to have lost twenty pounds in a week or to be promoted after only a few days of hard work.

Maybe you have some acne or stretch marks — so what? It doesn't make you worth less than anyone else. You're still more beautiful than you know. Maybe you didn't do so well on a big exam — it happens to the best of us! It doesn't make you stupid. Maybe you lost your temper with someone you care about — everyone has moments of irritation or frustration, it doesn't make you a terrible person for snapping once in a while.

We need to start easing up on ourselves. It's so easy to get into the habit of criticizing our every insecurity, to speak negatively to ourselves over things that, more often than not, we can't control. We need to learn to differentiate between what is changeable and what is not, otherwise we'll always be stuck trying to "perfect" things about ourselves that cannot be "fixed." Accepting your flaws, coming to an understanding that there will be some things you just can't change and somethings you have to experience in order to learn from, is a liberating process. It frees you from the crazy notion that you have to look, live, and act a certain way. It allows you to just be yourself.

You're only human — our imperfections are what make us beautiful, what make our paths in life so unique. Let's stop pressuring ourselves to be something we're not.