Hi Reader
How are you? I hope your week is off to a solid start.
If you've been in my world a while, you know I'm big on self-responsibility and taking an honest look at the ways in which we hold ourselves back from the joy, peace and fulfilment that so many of us crave. That's why this week I wanted to share with you three life lessons I wish I'd learned sooner.
1. You cannot outrun your patterns
It's easy to blame things outside of us (people, work, stress, and other life circumstances) for our feeling unsatisfied with our lives -and of course, these things can greatly impact our wellbeing. But if you are consistently coming up against the same (or similar) patterns and dynamics in your life and relationships (think: overfunctioning, people-pleasing, low self-esteem, imbalanced relationships, burnout, resentment, and so on), there's a good chance you are playing a very active role in the continual reenactment of these painful patterns. Wherever you go, there you are. The sooner you turn towards your wounded parts, the sooner you can live a life that isn’t governed by fear and avoidance.
2. If you're not changing something, you're choosing it
If there are changes in your life that you know you need to make, failing to do so is choosing more of whatever you don’t want. There’s no such thing as staying still; we are always in forward motion. So take responsibility for the path you are walking down, and if you don’t like where you’re heading, change direction.
3. Self-respect is earned through action
You cannot think or will your way to self-respect - you must earn it through consistent, value-aligned action. Show up each day as a person of integrity, self-discipline and strong character, and your relationship with yourself with flourish.
I hope these lessons have given you some food for thought and perhaps a loving nudge if you know you've been slipping a little in your standards for yourself. Be sure to hit reply and share any thoughts or reflections - I read every response even if I can't reply to all of you.
Have a great rest of your week.
Sending love
Steph
📣📣 PS. Final call for my 28-day challenge, The Secure Self, which kicks off on Monday! Join me and a supportive community of likeminded folks from all over the world as we build strong foundations of self-compassion, self-care, self-respect and self-trust. Click below to join us 👇🏼
