Turn up your inner Kanye

By Caroline Akinyele
 
On a scale of one to ten, how Kanye do you feel today? That’s a question I’ve recently been asking myself before I do something out of my comfort zone since having a great eye opening session with the IBY youth board. Teresa, founder of IBY, put forward this notion of an “inner Kanye” and after a few minutes of self-love brainstorming, it was absolutely fantastic to see how many positive things we had to say about ourselves. I really have turned up my inner Kanye since then!

http://imgur.com/A8Z2lvJ
 
One thing you can’t deny is that Kanye West loves himself! He genuinely believes he is the best of the best and no body can test because he is the incredible Kanye West. Now, I’m not saying you need to be like Kanye West all the time, but think about how you would feel if you gave yourself a confidence boost and just turned up your inner Kanye a little each day. We’ve all got one; that little voice that tells you you’re awesome when you surprise yourself with a task, or the voice that reminds you that you look fly when you stare at yourself in the mirror.
 
Sometimes, because of what other people say, or our past, or social media influences or anything else like that, we mute that voice of positivity and begin to doubt our greatness. Even when we do well we do not give ourselves the credit we deserve. This is damaging to you, your confidence and your self-esteem. If you think these negative thoughts, you begin to believe them and believe others think these thoughts too. But to be honest, some people don’t even have time to think about your doubts because they’re also too busy thinking negatively about themselves. There are a lot of bullies out there going through the same thing too, but expressing their self-hatred by hating others. You really want to be part of the percentage that Kanye is in: too busy embracing how breathtakingly remarkable you are, that you have no time to think negative thoughts about yourself.
 
That is why it is so important to love yourself. Remember that you are loved and deserving of love. Show yourself this love by simply complimenting yourself. Treat yourself like you are the closest friend you have ever known and see the difference!
 
Some people find it easier to say nice things about other people instead of themselves, but you know who doesn’t have a problem with this? Kanye West. There is only one Kanye, but there is only one YOU. Nobody will ever compare or do anything like you do, so start celebrating your unique greatness.

Put pen to paper and make an “I am…” poster or list like the youth board for Incredible Brilliant Youth did during our meeting (check out my image below). We had time to think about who we are as individuals and what makes us great from our skills to our culture, our attributes to our career goals. After getting as much as I could on paper, I stuck my poster up in my room and I now look at it every morning when I wake up. I remember these phrases as I go about my day-to-day routine and I feel phenomenal. I oozed confidence at my job interview that week at got the job; I felt like a boss at my musical performance, I even embraced my entrepreneurial side as I began plans to start my own creative collective.
 
All these adjectives were on my ‘I Am…’ list and I keep them in mind all the time. I’m pretty sure Kanye has his own mental ‘I am…’ list going on in his head 24/7 (and out loud at times). Turn up that voice, that confidence, your inner Kanye; love yourself and you will be invincible!
 
Here’s what some of the youth board had to say about our inspiring session with Teresa on self-esteem…
 
“From these sessions I would never have thought of becoming the person I am now. I am thankful.” – Amy
 
“Having your eyes open can save your life especially suffering from low self-esteem for most of your life! My eyes opened wide while I was at a self-esteem workshop delivered by Incredible Brilliant Youth! I actually left with some deep understanding of self love and the powerful things that can comes from it! Ok, so how did I get this from one session? Well - Teresa the founder of IBY presented her points well and really opened up which allowed me to also open up and after feeding myself with positive words, my mind set is becoming more and more positive! Seeing my worth has pushed me to really go for what I want in life! Now I have joined forces with two of my friends and created a platform for poets to create, promote and engage with poetry! ” - Theresa