“Sometimes you have to forget what you feel and remember what you deserve.”
-Unknown (click to tweet this)
I am all about expressing gratitude and feeling thankful for what I have. I do it every day. It is absolutely important to be grateful and feel abundance, but I want to be crystal fucking clear about something:
You can be grateful and feel abundance without settling.
It is ok to want more and be more. You deserve it.
I had to let go of my past to go after what I really wanted and deserved, both personally and professionally. It began by reprogramming some of the voices in my head that were part of the messages I received as a young person. One of the phrases I heard frequently in my younger life at home was “Who do you think you are?” Whether I wanted to go on a school trip my parents didn’t have money for, wanting a promotion/raise or living in a better place, I found myself feeling selfish and greedy when I aspired for more than what I had.
As I reflected on things I wanted that were beyond my means, education, location or possibility, a lot of it came down to money. The money problem wasn’t much of a problem. To get things I couldn’t afford, I’d find solutions – I could do more work or side hustles to pay for what I wanted. Done.
The real problem was my lack of self-worth. That mindset held me back in so many ways – tolerating unhealthy relationships, settling for jobs where I did more than my peers at the same or less pay and not having a seat at the table. Money can buy a lot, but it can’t buy self-worth.
Years of life experience and self-help books helped, but two things (having a team to take care of and becoming a mom) really drove my self-worth issues home. As an employer, I feel very “moma bear”ish. I love the people who work for me, I see how amazing they all are and want them to be paid what they are worth. Once I had a team, I was suddenly negotiating better deals for my company, not for myself, but for them, which indirectly made me see my shortcomings when I was a solopreneur (oooh did I settle for crumbs when I could have had the whole loaf toooooo many times!) As a parent, I want the best for my daughter – love, safety, education, health. As I became her advocate, it made me look at how I was advocating (or in many cases, not advocating) for the life we wanted.
When I am working with women as they are launching or growing web-based businesses, I always remind them not to settle for crumbs when they can have the whole loaf.
Why settle for crumbs when you can have the whole loaf? (click to tweet this!)
Being wild is about being unrestrained. Free your mind and freely seek the pleasure in life, love and career you deserve…YOU DESERVE IT!