It’s time for us to acknowledge how far we have come from the days of needing to sacrifice our needs to finally being able to focus on them. We have had a long history of focusing on the various roles we play towards others and putting them before our needs. You may have diligently shown up as a good child, spouse, parent, societal role model, and breadwinner. What have you done to show up for your own needs? For some people, even thinking about this is a foreign concept.
The biggest mental barriers that prevent us from showing up for ourselves are:
- We are scared to be seen. It can be extremely uncomfortable for us to be seen and face judgment of others.
- We are scared to fail. We can’t face the fact that we won’t be good at something straight away.
- We are scared to move past old conditioning. We have bought into the notion that it makes us a good person to ignore ourselves and do things for others.
Here are some tips to counteract these barriers:
- Accept that there is an equilibrium of support and challenge in your life. For as much admiration and support you will get, there will also be criticism. The only choice you have is to hide from the critics or face them! If you expect both admiration and criticism as a natural part of life, it will give you more courage to face the critics.
- Take baby steps. There will be times where it will be easy and times where it will be hard, all you need to do is focus on the immediate next step to ensure you are growing. “Mistakes” are an inevitable part of learning something new, and they bring valuable lessons too!
- Make time to focus on your needs. Know that it’s OKAY to focus on yourself. In our endeavour to give to people, sometimes we forget that we are a part of “people” too.
I invite you to think of one thing that you have been wanting to do for you, and before the end of the year take 3 baby steps to move in that direction and show up for yourself this month!
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