18/08/2026
Can you see yourself as clearly as you see others?
The other day I was asked to write down 10 qualities about myself.
Not things I do.
Not that I’m a mother.
Not that I’m a yoga teacher.
Not that I’ve worked in healthcare.
Not that I’m an athlete.
Not the roles I play or the things I’ve achieved.
But 10 qualities that describe who I am as a person.
And I found it surprisingly hard.
What really struck me was that if a close friend asked me to name 10 qualities about them, I could probably rattle them off without hesitation.
Kind.
Resilient.
Compassionate.
Loyal.
Courageous.
Funny.
Strong.
Thoughtful.
I can see those things in the people I love so easily.
But when it came to turning that same lens towards myself, there was this strange barrier.
And I started wondering…
Why do we find it so much easier to believe something about ourselves once someone else has said it first?
Someone tells us we’re kind - and we believe it.
Someone tells us we’re strong - and suddenly we can own it.
Someone tells us we’re resilient - and we accept that as part of who we are.
But what if nobody says it?
Does it become less true?
I don’t think it does.
And honestly, I couldn’t really answer this for myself until I stopped trying to find the answers in the outside world.
I had to sit in stillness.
To become quiet enough to actually listen.
To move beyond the external noise - the opinions, expectations, comparisons, labels and stories that can become so loud that we forget what our own voice sounds like.
This is one of the greatest gifts my yoga practice has given me over more than 20 years.
Yoga has taught me that stillness isn’t about having no thoughts.
It’s about creating enough space between the thoughts to notice what is actually coming from within me.
To listen.
To feel.
To trust.
And perhaps most importantly, to recognise that I don’t need someone else to tell me who I am before I am allowed to believe it.
Not arrogance.
Not ego.
Not thinking we’re better than anyone else.
Just being able to look honestly at ourselves and say:
This is who I am.
These are the qualities I carry.
And I know they’re true because I know myself.
So here’s my challenge for you:
Can you name 10 qualities about yourself- not what you do, not what you achieve, not who you are to other people -but qualities that belong to YOU?
And can you believe they’re true without needing anyone else to confirm them?
Maybe the answers aren’t found by thinking harder.
Maybe they’re found when we become still enough to hear ourselves.
❤️ Kelly ~ e’yoga
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