Today is the last day of the month and you know what that means…tomorrow is April 1st aka April fool’s day! Though tomorrow is April Fool’s day, did you know that people play and joke about themselves daily? Myself included.

For the past month, I have just been struggling! I mean like REALLY struggling. For any of my readers out there who have no idea what it’s like to try and become a full-time creator…It’s hard! It’s worth it if it’s something you love, but very hard. The combination of just all of the thoughts I’ve been going through the past month plus the thought of April Fool’s day and what it represents, made me think about how we often play ourselves. We are our own April Fool on a daily basis and that needs to stop.

It’s so much easier said than done, I already know, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying. It first starts with knowing exactly what you can do to stop, which is why I’m sharing ways how we all can start the journey of how to stop being the April fool and the one being fooled.

Stop listening to the self-doubt. There is so much self-doubt that enters our minds that it’s so insane to think about. From the Imposter Syndrome to the lies people have told us to the lies we’ve told ourselves, it’s all so toxic and the quickest and easiest way to instantly play ourselves. The words swirling in your head may tell you daily that you’re a joke or you’re playing yourself if you do go for something, but you’re really playing yourself if you DON’T. You’re holding yourself back from change, happiness, and so much more. Even more so, listening to that self-doubt is going to have you sinking deeper in an endless dark hole of sadness, depression, and unfulfillment. That’s something no one should want nor deserves.

End the self-hate jokes. I am a huge jokester, and some of the biggest jokes that I make are about myself. It’s just so easy to self-deprecate yourself when you don’t even realize it. It happens all of the time. Either you make a joke about yourself or you slip something negative out your lips about the way you look. It’s as easy as someone telling you you’re pretty and you responding by saying “Eh, I guess.” Do you know what you just did? YOU PLAYED YOURSELF (cue DJ Khalid). You are not a joke and you’re certainly not just “eh”. Don’t let the fool within continue to crack these jokes and make you look and feel something that you’re certainly not.

Remind yourself that you’re the main character of your life. I had never heard of this before, but recently, that’s all I’ve been hearing people say on social media. I’m pretty sure it’s probably something someone said on TikTok, but I’m not on there so I wouldn’t know. Anyway, despite how I discovered this saying, I actually like it and I want to start thinking this way myself. You have to remind yourself that you are the main character of your own story. You’re not the stand-in, not the extra, not character #4…no. You are the MAIN CHARACTER and that means you don’t just need to say it, but act like it. You are the star of this show and no one can take that away from you. No one can take your shine, your joy, or anything else. You’ll feel like you’re losing control sometimes, but remember that the show can’t go on without the most important person in it…you.

Stop holding yourself back because you’re scared. Holding yourself back because you’re scared is perfectly combined with listening to your self-doubt. Maybe you tell yourself you’re not good enough or someone has told you you’re not good enough and now you’re scared to take a step in doing something that may be different or out of your comfort zone. I have held myself back plenty of times throughout my life, and sadly, I still am. I don’t want to continue to hold myself back and neither should you. It’s time for fewer moments of holding ourselves back and more taking big leaps. You never know if you don’t try.

Realize your worth and never forget it. I almost said remember your worth, but in order to remember, you’d have to know your worth from the beginning. Some people don’t even realize or know what they’re worth. If you don’t know or were never told, let me do the honors…you’re worth so much more than you may feel or think. I’m not talking about monetary value either. Your value is worth way more than anyone on this earth can afford, and just as easy as it is for people to make their sad attempts at getting you to believe otherwise, it’s also just as easy to forget your worth and believe what those same people are telling you. If you believe them, then you’re not only being fooled, but you have given them the satisfaction in making them believe they won. The only person who’s winning in their own story is the main character…and that’s you.

Show yourself love and kindness daily. Lastly, you have got to show yourself love and kindness every single day. I get it, when all of these other factors come into play, it can be hard to do that. I’m right with you, I promise. I sometimes wake up in the morning and instantly destroy myself. I don’t even give myself a chance and I know that I’m not the only one. We are playing ourselves daily by doing this. The day is being started on the wrong foot and there’s already a mindset that, no matter what we plan to do that day, it won’t matter. No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. That doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve love, kindness, or patience. Yes, you should receive those things from others, but you have to start by showing these things to yourself.

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Repeat after me: I AM NO APRIL FOOL.

I hope that after reading this, you not only say it with confidence, but you believe it. We’ve been playing ourselves, but that’s done. It’s April Fool’s day tomorrow and the joke is now on all the people who put doubt in your mind and on your own negative mind itself.

Did you see anything that you noticed you do often? Do you plan on starting the journey to stop playing yourself?