GIVE YOURSELF SOME CREDIT
Once you get to a place where you no longer feel the pressure to be everything to everyone, you free yourself up to rest.
Once you begin to accept that you will not be able to meet everyone else’s expectations of you, you will be able to find peace in knowing that you don’t have to work to prove your worth.
Once you start to understand what you can’t control, you can start to focus on what you can control, and trust that there will be room for growth, no matter the outcome.
And perhaps, the way to start living this out is by reflecting on the times in your life where you’ve already been learning these lessons about your worth and what you’re capable of.
Reflect on those moments years ago, where you were giving your all, only to be taken for granted. Reflect on what it felt like to make yourself available only to be rejected. And as you reflect on these things, you can reflect on this, too: how you came out on the other side of the heartbreak. Reflect on how in grace, you found time and space to heal, and to learn more and more about who you are…without the validation you thought you needed.
There might be times where you forget everything you’ve already been through, but do yourself a favor and take the time to remember. Take the time to reflect on all of the times in your life where you learned that you don’t exist to prove yourself to people. Take the time to reflect on those experiences that taught you: your worth isn’t dependent on outside validation.
Give yourself some credit.
You’ve already been doing the work.
You’ve already been on the journey of learning to embrace who you are.
Let your past experiences and the wisdom you’ve already gathered remind you of this: other people’s validation does not have to determine the way you see yourself. Being able to make meaningful connections with other human beings is one of life’s most beautiful gifts but if we’re not able to connect with the people we want to connect with, it doesn’t make us worth any less. If we’re unable to make the relationship work or work our way into a certain group of people, it doesn’t mean we have any less value.
In one way or another, we have already learned this lesson in life. But now is the time to remember. Now is the time to remember who we are beyond what others can see. Beyond what others perceive. That’s how we can truly begin to see our worth in an all new way.
Word of the day: Reflect (v): think deeply or carefully about (Oxford Languages)
Affirmation: My worth isn’t dependent on outside validation.
Journal: What expectations of yourself have you been holding onto? Where can you let go of those expectations?
More in this week's series called "Make Room for Something New", only with a subscription in the Storyteller App.
Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols
