Self Worth

Last week I wrote about the first of my latest discoveries about the factors which contribute to our experiences of depression, anxiety and panic—that what we eat (and how we feed ourselves) has a direct and measurable impact on our emotional health.

This week, I want to share another insight that I’ve gained as I’ve been looking back on my journals. Again, this is very personal and very real for me. I’m writing about it here, because I believe that there are others than can benefit from my experience.

I’m a writer. When I want to process something, I write it out. It might be a “data dump”… just getting it all out on paper. It might be a mind-map. It might be journaling. Whatever the form, it helps when I write.

Looking back over my own journals, it’s clear that a struggle with self-worth has been a significant component of my life experience. Clearly, it is one of the emotional pieces of the puzzle. It’s been a deeply rooted, underlying belief about myself.

Because of all the work I’ve done through Prime Potential, there are some of these issues that I’m pretty well equipped to deal with in reasonably short order. This one, though…ran deep. I can trace it back the emotional thread all the way to my very early childhood when my parents lost my sister to “crib death” (what today we refer to as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). There has never been a parent that is prepared to deal with the death of a child, and my parents were no different. Their overwhelming grief caused them to withdraw emotionally for a period time, and that’s where the seeds of my own belief about being unworthy were planted.

Recognizing the connection to my childhood experience is not a new revelation. I’ve been here before, and done lots of work around it. So why does it still show up from time to time?

Well, for one thing, I think it reappears occasionally because I have lapses in my own spiritual disciplines. What do I mean by that? One of the things we have our clients do is to begin to practice something we call, “Stepping In.” It’s a process by which we visualize ourselves stepping into, and connecting with the state we call “Authentic Identity.”

It’s clear that the deep effect of Prime Potential shifts things to such a great extent that we are able to live from this place of Authentic Identity more and more. And stepping into that state become easier and easier the more we do it. It really IS like exercising a muscle. The more we use it, the stronger it becomes.

I think the truth of the matter is, though, that we really do have to live our lives on purpose. It’s about being conscious, and disciplined. It’s about making the choice day in and day out about how we want to experience life. And sometimes I still go unconscious. Is it because the work somehow is broken? No… it’s because I’m not doing what I know I need to do. I get distracted. I get lazy. I allow myself to slip in to old patterns and behaviours.

So for me… in my life… two of the keys to living a emotionally healthy life are to look after myself physically, and to make the choice daily to step into my Authentic Identity where I instantly and effortlessly know my own worth. I know why I’m here, and what it is that I’m called to do. I need to be reminded sometimes.

And you know what? Sometimes we need help in seeing our own worth. Sometimes we need someone else’s eyes and perspectives to see into the spaces in our lives where we can’t see ourselves (blindspots), and to help us discover just how wonderful, valuable, and resourceful we truly are. There’s nothing unusual or “wrong” with needing that kind of support. We ALL need that from time to time.

If you’re feeling like you’d like to some help shoring your own emotional foundation, we’ve got lots of experience doing that.

Please… be in touch, and let’s chat about how we can help you step into your own sense of peace, well-being, and resourcefulness. This is the work we do. It’s what we love. And we have an amazing process that is quick, elegant, and truly effective.

So… there’s still more that I’ve learned. Stay tuned. I promise to share the insights.