Doubt is prevalent, whether it comes from words you hear others say, or that little voice that creeps in the corners of your mind. It is one of the biggest things that holds us back from doing exactly what we should do to take good care of ourselves.
Do You Have Doubts That You Know How to Take Good Care of Yourself?
If doubt nags you at every decision you really want to make to take action toward self care I am hear to tell you – you CAN overcome that!
How can I guarantee this?
Because if I can do it – you can too.
I’ve encountered doubters every step of the way in this life. Most of them come from inside my own head when I am trying to follow my career dreams or take care of my body!
When I became a yoga teacher instead of working a “real job” I am not sure I had all of the right support I needed – or at least that is what my brain told me. I stumbled out of business and into teaching academics.
Next, I launched into doing Mind-Body Therapy after my Masters Degree. I was told that ‘there is no market for that” and “nobody in this area will be able to afford that.” I listened…and where I had some amazing meaningful experiences, I still let doubt win. Back to teaching academics I went.
Then, I launched into the massage business and renewed my vigor for taking clients of all kinds a few months ago. I had doubters say the area is “saturated with LMT’s” or, there isn’t really that big of a spiritual community to support all of the practitioners doing “those things” these days.
Yet, Audience Says….
The past couple of months have been the most enjoyable and FULL small business owning experience I’ve ever had. I am proving myself wrong!
That doesn’t mean I haven’t held on to teaching academics – just in case. (Said with a smile as she acknowledges her faithful friend doubt peeking over her shoulder as she types.)
When I look back, I can see the same path was true for when I have made exercise choices, diet choices, spiritual lifestyle choices…ok – just about any choice that would make me different than what folks were used to me being. I was “almost there” when it can to success!
So, Why All The Doubt For So Long?
I couldn’t see it. Doubt prevented me from having a vision of success. I didn’t have the confidence. What I did have was the vision of working really hard and struggling to prove myself.
In each of my prior experiences – in all aspects of my life – anytime I wanted to make a change, it was for the wrong reasons. These were decisions made out of fear, out of desperate attempts to survive in this life, out of doing what I thought I “should do” because this is what others thought too.
What is Different Now?
I CAN see it. Tapping into owning my worth and committing to only doing that which will serve my higher purpose is proving to be the right path.
I have defined my higher purpose as “that which will have a very meaningful impact on lives – that which will have outcomes of greater awareness and transformation.”
Guess what? That no longer applies to other people. Meaningful awareness and transformation is for ME too.
Purpose looks different every day. Sometimes, like today, it is a walk in the woods with my son and my dog creating quality memories. Other times it is spending way too many hours in the night, foregoing sleep, so I can write an amazing workshop. Sometimes it means saying screw the workshop and getting enough sleep so I am charged for the day to come.
More-so, purpose means putting everything down and pausing to connect, to listen deeply, to myself and others, and to hear what is really being said. That pause is the secret place where authentic answers are created. The answers that say – THIS is how to go forward in taking care of yourself and others.
You Can Do It Too.
Really. You can do it. And the best part? I don’t think it takes anything magical. (It might feel magical though!)
You just have to pause long enough to get clear about what you truly want instead of being limited by preconceived expectations or boundaries.
You have to have to want it bad enough. And, you will – once you have a taste of operating from your best self – you will want it all the time.
Then you just have to go get it. I am working on this part still. Do you believe in progress, not perfection?
I believe in that for both you and me.
Cheers to change – one step at a time.
With Warmth,
PS. Want a sneak peek at the interview I just did about a program I am bringing back to life for 4-5 new clients in May? Check out A Recent Interview About Revive & Thrive: The Ultimate Soul Inspired Self-Care Package™! Contact me if you are interested!
Melanie A. Wood-Scureman, MA, LMT, PRYT-P, owner and founder of Soul Ease Massage and Mind Body Therapy, is an intuitive mentor and massage therapist with a background in psychology, health, and wellness.