I truly believe that our business is a reflection of who we are from the inside out and if we are not feeling great about ourselves, on some level, it will hurt us personally as well as professionally.
Our confidence and belief in ourselves is paramount to achieving our goals and this is where self love comes in because without self love, we will be a puppet to everyone else’s “stuff”, we will put ourselves last and we will “cave” when we need to be strong.-Marianne Cherico
Let’s talk first about what self love is NOT. It is not egoic, narcissistic and mean spirited.
On the contrary, self love comes from a place of being centered and connected to your heart. When body, mind and spirit are connected we make choices that are not only in tune with our divine inner wisdom, they are better for the world because we shine our light authentically. We give the world the best of us and the world reflects that back.
| It’s not your job to like me…it’s MINE! ~Byron Katie |
Self love is a way of caring more about what you think about you and less about what others think of you. When you love yourself enough, you realize that the way that others see you is skewed by their own false lens. The way that they see you is not reality. It is their reality and it truly has nothing to do with you-especially if it comes from a place of trying to control or is mean spirited!
| Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone else’s inability to see your worth-Unknown |
Many women define themselves by the way that others see them and that is not a true measure of their worth. This leads them to make choices about their lives and careers that keep them playing small. They base all of their decisions on what others think. Will they be a terrible Mother if they love their career? Will they be looked upon poorly if they choose to stay at home with their babies? Will they have to give endlessly in order to prove their worth and be paid fairly?
When we have a better sense of self love, we understand our value is not what the world gives us, but how we choose to create our world. We own our value. We stop living by default, taking the crumbs, and start expecting more for ourselves. All of a sudden that low paying job that is running us ragged becomes something that we won’t tolerate any longer. Or the relative that constantly demeans us has no power over our feelings anymore. We understand that we get to choose what plays a bigger part in our heart, mind and spirit and we focus more on what will serve our higher good.
So how does a lack of self love show up in our professional life? Here are a few ways:
- We don’t have time boundaries
- We don’t charge what we are worth
- We let others walk all over us
- We allow people to talk to us disrespectfully
- We compare ourselves to others
- We don’t grow for fear of “failure”
- We accept “what is” instead of creating “what makes our heart sing”
- We allow ourselves to get so burnt out that we get sick or emotionally and physically depleted
- We work with people who don’t value us
- We take jobs that we aren’t excited about
If you would like to read more about how to love yourself better, check out Break The Rules and Give Yourself Some Valentine’s Day Lovin’
Cheers to LOVE,
P.S. I would love to hear your comments on this topic!
