Hi everyone,
I've been interested in personal development or ‘self-help’ for many years. It’s been a real lifesaver for me in difficult times.
Though I’m grateful for all I learnt, I can’t say my interest in it came from a place of self-acceptance.
It came from a place of feeling broken somehow and being desperate to be ‘fixed’ and to make my life perfect and stress-free, as if perfection was attainable!
It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that there is something wrong with us that needs fixing. That we are making mistakes with our lives, like how we use our time, what we eat, who we are with and the job we are doing.
There’s so much information now and research is co-opted left, right and centre that invites us to be self-critical with how we live, always promoting a different, better way to be.
I don’t want to feed into that self-critical drama! I want to present an alternative:
You are not someone broken to be fixed.
You are a masterpiece AND a work in progress (thanks, Susan Hyatt).
Yes, you are both perfectly imperfect, and don’t need to change a hair on your head, as well as a person on a journey.
This is a paradox worth exploring and for me, it’s relies on self-care and kindness, as well as getting in touch with where your values lie and your dreams rest.
Who you really are and what you really want.
When we are loving and kind towards ourselves, we can learn to love and accept ourselves now and also to enjoy moving towards where we yearn to be. (You’ll be happy to know that being kind to yourself is totally backed by research – it’s soo good for you!)
It's a real balancing act, getting ourselves unstuck and tweaking our lives and all the while accepting ourselves, completely.
It’s part of what I love about coaching - clients are genuinely accepted as they are and are also given opportunities to grow and transform, should they wish.
This sweet spot of getting to know and love yourself and getting into your zone of joy - living your purpose - is definitely something to work for.
The prize is joy, calmness, excitement, energy, warmth and patience for others and living into yourself and your life in ways you never dreamt possible.
So good!
You can start by thinking through what I mentioned above –
- What do you most value? Kindness, truth, beauty, love, freedom…
- What are your small, medium and large dreams?
- Where are you hiding yourself in your life? Who are you when no one is looking?
- What do you really want in life? Here’s a hint, under what we want ‘a holiday house!’ it’s really the feelings we are chasing, like with this example, it might be freedom, time with friends, to be in nature, a decent break from work, somewhere to make memories.
We had some great posts this week -
If you'd like to make the most of your evenings, check out Sunday's post here.
To learn to become your own compassion saviour, check this out.
Have a great week!
Lara
xox
P.S. If you haven't liked Set Me Free Coaching yet, please join us!
Hi, I'm Dr Lara Corr, life coach and researcher in work and wellbeing. I coach successful 30 and 40 somethings who want more fulfilling or bigger careers but doubt themselves and their options. I help them get out of their own way, find direction and go for what they really want.