Sneak Attack

Last week (in my blog post) I called myself a name. Overachiever. And I take that back. 

Because if there’s an over, there’s an under(achiever). These words tend to make people feel bad for striving and bad for not. It has judgement written all over it. My first instinct is to blame the word. Language is a sneaky thing. Take note. It’s one of the invisible constructs that allows us to oppress ourselves. By sparking feelings of lack, language can keep us small. In reality, words are neutral. It is our interpretation of them that gives them meaning. I allowed myself to believe for too long that my actions and worth are relative to someone else’s. So, I am not actually an overachiever. I am simply me, doing (achieving). I’m an achiever.

I don’t know about you, but I talk to myself all day long which makes ‘inner dialogue’ my favorite wellbeing concept. An audience of one is powerful. We possess the ability to lift ourselves (and alternatively crush ourselves). Awareness is key and acts as both weapon and shield. It exposes the oppressor and dissipates its power. More than that, awareness empowers. It allows us to make new choices. And new choices mean new outcomes. 

There are a lot of ways the subconscious limiting beliefs of our society, culture, family seep into us. When a seed of doubt or lack is planted by others, we can choose to nurture it or let it wither. Things like judgement, guilt, shame, and lack are all illusions meant to keep us small. They are meant to scare us into a false sense of safety. We fear that if we own our power, we might make someone else feel poorly, feel less, feel lack. But more is never made from less. By showing up small, we do not help anyone. We only encourage them to keep believing in a fear economy. But when we show up big, we are leading the way. We transition into a love economy where we can lend courage to bring others into their greatness. 

I challenge you this week to slow down a moment. Listen. What are you telling yourself? What kind of words do you hear from others? Finding even one way to rephrase an event, experience, behavior can open the door to more love, positivity and possibility within you and around you.