I really felt the need to encourage my readers today. I hope you find this post uplifting, even if it is a bit different from my normal ones.
Your Seamless Coach
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I was overweight as a young girl, growing up in a home where my mother fed us sweet treats in an attempt to alleviate her guilt at being a heavy alcoholic. I was “the fat kid” before the childhood obesity epidemic we face today, and before we identified making fun of other children as a form of bullying. It led to a lot of loneliness and isolation, some of that chosen in order to avoid being hurt by others.
As an adult, I look back and realize that, to some degree, that experience was a blessing. I became a voracious reader, spending my days lost in a book, living vicariously through them, even non-fiction. As a result, I was reading at a college level in elementary school. I also developed a love for writing, entertaining myself with my own stories and poetry. It is likely that, if I had not felt so isolated, I would not have developed these passions at an early age, ones that have continued into my adulthood. I also became mindful of the feelings of others, recognizing the pain that words can inflict, and the healing they can also bring.
I spent many of my younger years very quiet and subdued – on the outside. Through interaction with several outstanding teachers, I developed a sense of confidence in middle school and high school. I lost weight and felt good about myself. As that sense of confidence grew, I realized I was not that much of an introvert after all. I enjoyed meeting people; I just preferred doing it in small groups rather than a crowd. I was comfortable being in charge of a project, a group leader, and making decisions. I liked being the center of attention sometimes. I continued growing as a person, developing my strengths, and becoming more and more confident.
For a short period of my adulthood, I fell into the teaching that was out there about “strengthening your weak areas,” spending way too much time feeling like a failure because I could not do as well as someone who was strong in the areas I was not. I am so glad that we have moved beyond that idea. It is a confidence destroyer that diverts energy from the areas of your life that you are naturally gifted and created to be strong in. When I finally realized the fallacy of this approach, and turned back to growing in my gifts and talents, I felt both my confidence and competence soar again.
The point I am trying to make is that your past doesn’t dictate your future. If it did, I would be an alcoholic, living in squalor, unhealthy and probably obese, trying to fit my full, round hips in a small, square box and feeling like a failure every day for it, living a quiet, shy and lonely life. I would be convinced that I lack the skills needed to be a success. That is what my past tried to tell me.
Every time you try to move to another level, you will face a moment of uncertainty and doubt. You will feel like you don’t have what it takes. Your confidence will feel shaky. This is when you MUST keep moving. Most people don’t. They get their businesses to a comfortable level – and stop. They get to a certain ring on the ladder in their career – and stop. They let their lives get to a place of security – and stop.
DON’T STOP! There is so much more waiting for you if you keep going. Your strengths, talents and passions are enough to move you forward; you will learn what you need to know. Believe it. Keep moving.
Seamless Coach 