You’re a bully. Yeah, you heard me.

This week is National No Name Calling Week.

The campaign, which is aimed mostly at schools, strives to protect students from name-calling and other forms of bullying, and to replace it with intentional acts of kindness.

But there’s a much larger problem lurking…

A much more wide-spread problem that goes far beyond our schools.

And YOU are responsible for it.

Yes, you heard me. YOU are a bully.

I can just hear your wheels turning…

“What do you mean?” you’re wondering.

“I don’t call people names. I never bully anyone. I’m a nice person.”

And you are a nice person.

To almost everyone.

But there’s one person who you’re terrible to…

You constantly call her names.

“Stupid.” “Ugly.” “Fat.”

You bully her constantly.

“You’ll never get it right!” “You should just quit now!” “You’re such a loser!”

I’m sure, by now, you’ve guessed it.

The person you bully is yourself.

You badger her with an endless barrage of negative self-talk. Insults. And outright lies.

It’s so second nature, you may not even notice it anymore.

So take National No Name Calling Week as a reminder to stop bullying yourself.

Become aware of your negative self-talk and hateful thoughts.

Replace the insults with intentional acts of kindness. Kind words. Kind thoughts. And kind actions.

Give yourself the same grace and unconditional love you show others.

For practical tips on ending the negative self-talk and replacing it with kindness, read How to Be Your Own Best Friend.