If you grew up in a disrupted home, where alcohol or gambling or marital strife tore people apart, where domestic conflicts were your family’s soundtrack and your parents fought night after night and you heard it all of this, this was your normal. It was easy to believe that everybody lived this way.

When you were around peaceful and loving families it was hard to trust they were not pretending their love and their happiness was fake. 

If you grew up around bullies, people who made fun of you, belittled you, were cruel to you, that was your normal. You’ve probably spent much of your life trying to find the truth of who you are and what you can be rather than have it filtered by the belittling voices of your childhood. 

If you grew up with warmth and affection and affirmation, and a ready welcome from both or one parent and who affirmed your skills, honored your opinions, recognized your abilities, you developed an inner-confidence.This was your normal. You had no need to compete for attention. You didn’t have to prove anything to anyone. You had a voice and knew how to use it even in early childhood. 

Be grateful. Your beautiful normal was quite unusual.

What was your normal?