Object In Mirror May Be More Awesome Than It Appears
21 Days until Book Launch/Signing!
At an early age we begin to care about what other people think of us. As infants we crave the attention of our parents, unable to communicate except for frustrated please expressed through crying. As toddlers and young children we act out for attention and hold dear every moment our parents spend with us, yet when we do something to displease them our whole world is thrown into turmoil.
Once we enter the world of Teenagers we begin to expand our circle of influence and care more about what our peers think of us than our parents. Still later this pressure of our peers builds and fights for attention with our raging hormones to such an extent that a wrong glance or a casual misspoken word can send us to the darkest of despairs for days on end.
In College or our early days of a career we are influenced even more by an ever growing sphere of influence from co-workers, roommates, bosses, professors and friends. It’s as though we spend our whole lives worrying about what others think, how to fit in, and seeking approval.
No wonder, then, as we mature or are exposed to thinking that causes us to reflect internally, it is so difficult for us to think that we have anything at all to do with our self esteem, our inner view of who we are; and yet, that is who has always been responsible and in charge of what we think of ourselves.
The challenge is that although we may logically or emotionally understand that we CAN have a different view of who we are it is far easier said than done having spent our entire lives believing and in fact using what others think of us as our barometer.
The truth is, regardless of who we think is in charge of our self esteem, it all comes down to the questions we ask ourselves. When we are trying to please someone be it a significant other, a boss, a coworker or a stranger we are asking questions: “Did I just say the wrong thing?”, “Does she really like me or is she just being nice?”, “What if I agree with him, will he think I’m just trying to kiss up?” etc.
If we truly want to change our image of who we are, we simply have to ask intentional questions that serve us, that probe into who we truly believe we are, not what others tell us.
Answer your own internal questions honestly, about the type of person you are, the type of person you want to be, and how you can begin living the life of that person and you’ll be amazed at how quickly things can change.
You really ARE all that AND a bag of chips. You just need to start asking the right questions to see it.
Go ahead, try it.