Do you ever feel like a walking contradiction?

Does it feel as though you hold conflicting beliefs about yourself simultaneously?

It’s not unusual to have paradoxes within us.  The tension they create is often what brings us to counselling.

Clients frequently share with me what they think about themselves – “I’m greedy”, “I’m lazy”, “no one likes me”, “I’m not good enough”, “I’m a failure”.

Sometimes when they’re in the middle of describing themselves negatively, they do something quite astonishing.

They stop, look at me and say:

“But I know I’m a good person”.

It’s happened so often I can’t count.

They never say I think I’m a good person.  They always say I know I’m a good person.  It’s usually said with such beautiful clarity.  It’s as though they’ve checked in with themselves at a deeper level and found the truth.  They may be baffled by it, they may…