BELIEF

I was chatting with a friend and we started discussing beliefs about ourselves and how we can be our own worst enemy. 

When I first started practicing every single client would ask me about my age and comment that I was so young. How was I going to be help to somebody looking into retirement? Or a parent? I went to my first first job interview after graduate school and a woman on the panel called me a whippersnapper- SIX times!!!! 

I ended up working with my whippersnapper calling interviewer. The first year I was self conscious. Was I too eager? Too young? 

We allow the voice in our head to trick us. The voice that creeps up and reiterates our areas of growth. We certainly all have areas that could benefit from some extra TLC. We also have tons of strengths and qualities that make us a unique being. How come we allow our mind to have those areas of growth consume significantly more space in our thoughts than our strengths?

We become what we think. My all time favorite quote is by Ghandi punctuates the point perfectly! 

In Danielle LaPorte's wise words #thruthbomb!! We are responsible for our thoughts, feelings, actions and destiny. Certainly we can get triggered by something outside of ourselves, however it is how we choose to then cope with that trigger. Wouldn't it be delightful to be able to externalize the blame, the hurt, the anger. We don't have to feel as deeply when we do not own the emotions, when we don't take charge of our thoughts or accountability for our actions. We then however are cheating ourselves. 

How empowering that we get to guide our thoughts, feelings and behaviors! Sure I was young, right out of school and lacked experience. That could have been the constant dialogue in my head and subcontiously could have zapped any and all belief I had in myself. (In all honesty, that story did creep up in my head, that whippersnapper language was hard go shake.) OR I could have focused on how I had all the current research and treatment modalities in my tool box, I was as motivated as ever, had the most amazing mentors and was oozing with passion. It was not about my age. Regardless of my age, each persons story is different. Even if I was older and had faced what others were seeking support with- their experience with it was going to be different than mine. It is their journey, their experience, their feelings and the only way to know what is happening for them internally, is for the person to share their experience. 

We get to decide. We get to decide what we believe about ourself, how we story the dialogue that runs through our heads constantly. That story impacts how was feel about ourselves and in turn the opportunities we access, the people the meet, the experiences we create. How do you want to story your life? What tweaks can you make to the current dialogue in your head in order to punctuate your strengths! Believe, believe, believe! Be your own best cheerleader! Thrive on, friends!