Welcome in Self-Love
“Growth and transformation occur not by changing who we are, but as we summon the courage to be who we are.”
Katrina Kenison
There is joy in discovering the person you were intended to be: YOUR TRUE SELF.
But it is easy to get sidetracked along the way and look to others for approval. Oftentimes, it seems that what others think matters more to us than how we feel. People-pleasing sets in and there’s a feeling of never being enough.
But there’s a better way. Because while others do matter, what they think about us doesn’t. People can be fickle. Their opinions shift and evolve, and so to the ever-changing rules they want us to play by.
In truth the only thing that really matters is your own inner guidance. What comes from your core. Your heart space. A feeling or intuition. Deep knowing.
To find and follow this inner voice is to claim power, freedom, and joy. It’s to realize and love who you are, as you are.
It’s not hard to get there. Each day presents thousands of choices. Opportunities to practice heart-inspired action, and to bask in the good feeling emotions that follow when you get it right. Not only does it feel good to take heart-inspired action, researchers say that it could be the key to a happier life.
I’ve been practicing for a while now. It’s been liberating. And it’s been a lot of fun.
Take for example this past February. I was in Des Moines for a haircut. As I sat and looked in the mirror, my hair stylist Katie Jo quietly combed my hair and took-in all the new growth. Then she asked unexpectedly, “Have you thought about letting the color go? You could totally pull-off the gray that’s coming through.”
That planted a seed. I realized the grays were coming in faster than my every three-week color regimen could contain. For 30 years I’d relied on professionals to keep my hair dark and what others may perceive as more youthful-looking. But what started out as fun, no longer felt that way.
It had become a chore as I pushed against nature.
I was tired and ready to let it go. Plus, there was this strong inclination to find out what my genetics had in store.
It was a choice that felt really good the moment I decided to commit to it. I ran the idea by my family and a few close friends. Giving them a heads-up akin to, “Hey, guess what I’m going to do?!”
Funny thing. The only pushback came from Gemma, my 7-year old granddaughter. She didn’t buy it, and said, “But Gram, if you don’t have dark hair how will people know we are a family?”
I always love her perspective. It’s refreshing and insightful and authentic. So I paused and then responded with the first thing that came to mind: I’d wear a signature ponytail, just like she does.
The process has been easy and rewarding. My hair pros helped ease the transition. Relative self-isolation for the past eight months has provided time. Warm reactions from friends, family and even strangers encouraged me onwards. And self-discovery brought joy to the adventure.
There’s brilliance with heart-inspired action. The joy from my going-gray experience inspired me to make other personal changes and choices that were more about myself, and less about what others might think. I feel empowered and confident in knowing what I want, and what I don’t want. There’s no more stress and fear from worring about someone else’s expectation of me. Life has assumed a more happy flow. And it’s unfolding in a spectacular way.
There are many things in this world not in our control. There is, though, so much we do have power over. How we feel and what we choose to do about it.
Life is a journey of personal transformation. Let’s make sure our GPS comes from within.
