“If we could look into each others hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, tolerance, patience and care” Marvin J Ashton
Do not for one second allow the actions and opinions of others to dictate your own self worth, but instead use them as a driving force to inspire you to dig deep and become better, not bitter.
Some of the biggest challenges I’ve experienced in my life have been the greatest gifts; they’ve shaped me into the person I am today and have helped me realize the importance of why each of us need to give ourselves permission to live in our truth, walk in our faith, and love with COURAGE, CONFIDENCE and CONVICTION!
COURAGE:
Courage is a teachable and learnable skill, and most everyone has the capacity to be courageous.
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow”. Mary Anne Radmacher
“Sometimes the biggest act of courage is a small one”. Lauren Raffo
Maya Angelou says: “One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest…without courage”
Courageous women RISK more, they TRUST more and they SACRIFICE more.
Look back on your life and think of all your victories, small and great, that required courage and willingness to risk, trust and sacrifice.
My passion is to empower women to have more FAITH than fear! More courage than doubt! To inspire women to step up, step out, and step forward into their greater self.
On this International Women’s day, ask yourself: How can I serve in this mission? Maybe you already are, and that’s great! But if you aren’t… I encourage you to start with doing this for YOU first; exercise more FAITH than fear, more courage than doubt. Step up, out and forward into YOUR GREATER SELF!
“You can’t teach what you do not know, and you can’t lead where you do not go”
When you become that WOMAN OF COURAGE , you’ll inspire others to follow suit!
Next, CONFIDENCE:
Confidence is the catalyst of success and progress.
I have a little quiz for you: Your success in life is driven by only ONE of these: either your self-confidence or your self-esteem. Do you know which one?
First let’s distinguish the two, as people tend to use them interchangeably.
- SELF-ESTEEM is your perception of your PERSONAL WORTH. “Do I deserve it?”
- SELF-CONFIDENCE is your perception of your ABILITY TO DO SOMETHING.“Can I do it?”
Self-Esteem it is the culmination of what you’ve been taught to think about yourself.
Self-confidence, on the other hand, is built entirely by you and entirely by action.
The more you do something, the more you believe you can do it.
The beautiful thing about self-confidence is that you can actually grow it.
And because the only way to grow Self Confidence is through ACTION, you also get to see tangible results.
So, when I think of a woman leaving a toxic or abusive relationship, or even a toxic or abusive ‘job’, they may still have low self esteem, but their self-confidence will be sky high- because they ACTED IN SPITE OF THEIR FEARS! They did it afraid!
High self-esteem is not a requirement for success in life…but
Self-confidence is.
No therapist, mentor or coach around can build your self-confidence, only you can do that.
How? By choosing a positive attitude with daily action. And because you can choose your attitude and you can choose the action you take, you have the power to gain outrageously high self-confidence and the success that comes with it.
I’ve seen many women who’ve built their self-confidence through targeted and persistent action, actually wind up with higher self-esteem.
They discover along the way of doing and doing and doing that they are, in fact, absolutely and completely worth it.
So don’t worry too much about whether or not you deserve to be successful, or that you deserve to have a better life – of course you do. Leave the “am I worth it” stuff at the door. You are worth it!!!
Lastly, CONVICTION:
Conviction is the foundation of vitality.
You can have all the knowledge, skill and talent in the world but if you don’t step up, step out, and step forward, and put ACTION into practice with passion, the power of intention, and purpose, all of that knowledge, skill and talent will go to waste!
Remember this,
CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE
“If a child lives with criticism,
he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility,
he learns to fight.
If a child lives with fear,
he learns to be apprehensive.
If a child lives with pity,
he learns to feel sorry for himself.
If a child lives with ridicule,
he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with jealousy,
he learns what envy is.
If a child lives with shame,
he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with encouragement,
he learns to be confident.
If a child lives with tolerance,
he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with praise,
he learns to be appreciative.
If a child lives with acceptance,
he learns to love.
If a child lives with approval,
he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with recognition,
he learns that it is good to have a goal.
If a child lives with sharing,
he learns about generosity.
If a child lives with honesty and fairness,
he learns what truth and justice are.
If a child lives with security,
he learns to have faith in himself and in those about him.
If a child lives with friendliness,
he learns that the world is a nice place in which to live.
If you live with serenity,
your child will live with peace of mind.” by Dorothy Law Nolte
My hope is that what I’ve shared with you today has helped you DISCOVER your inner strength to be bold, strong and confident! That you EMBRACE this season with courage, confidence and conviction, and that you are that woman who ELEVATES and CELEBRATES other women everyday, not just on International Women’s Day.
“BE“lieving in “YOU”
Shannon~
Success is an Inside Job 