“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves
who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that
other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God
that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously
give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.”
– Nelson Mandela
1994 Inaugural Speech
When we choose to carry an imbalance of self-worth within us, we are making the active choice to go into fear, or stay in fear-based, erroneous thought. It is a choice, conscious or unconscious. We choose to think our thoughts. We are not a victim here, unless we choose to be.
The fact that our self-worth is a direct product of what we feed our mind with can be upsetting to some people who do not yet realize that they are in charge of their thoughts, moods, words and actions.
Our thoughts, moods, words and actions do not choose us. We choose them. It is our deciding to believe either what we tell ourselves, or others tell us that can sabotage us.
How do we remedy this?
One way to move past dysfunctional and self-sabotaging habits of the past that have stifled our growth mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, is to begin, or begin again to allow ourselves to think new thoughts.
If we do not like how we are feeling, we need to change how we are thinking. This concept helps with every facet of life, even physical illness. We may not be able to change the past and many other things in our life, but what we choose in our response, of what we to do next, which is the answer to peace, love and joy for the rest of our life.
Remember, it takes 21 days to change a deeply ingrained dysfunctional habit. During these first 21 days of deciding to think, say and do things differently, infusing hope, peace and forgiveness – especially of ourselves; start and re-start again. If we catch ourselves in the old habit, we need to remind ourselves to STOP, and start yet again.
The reason I say to infuse forgiveness – especially of ourselves, is that we can be the harshest of critics, holding grudges to ourselves, which never allows for healing. So, if we really want to grow in self-esteem, to realize that we are perfect as we are, we need to let go of what no longer serves us. Our thoughts, words and actions may have served us in the past. But now is time to wake up and move on. We need to liberate of ourselves from the misguided concepts of perfection.
We are perfect as we are created by the glory of God, which we can radiate, if we allow ourselves to do just that. It is what we choose with our free will once we become aware of the limitless possibilities and opportunities before us that shape our future.
Now is the time to manifest the glory of God in each one of us.
God Bless