I’d be lying if I said that I was at the point in my life where I fully and completely embrace my body.  I totally get that it must be freeing to unconditionally accept yourself, I’m just not quite there yet.    But I can say that I’ve come a very long way.  My teenage years were a period of self-loathing, constantly feeling inadequate in comparison to others. I oozed insecurity.

My harsh inner-critic was so loud, so cruel, so self-deprecating…..it was deafening.  It has taken some growing up and some major work on my self-esteem to get to a place where I can genuinely say that I am enough.

It appears that most of us are reluctant to reveal our full selves - in social settings, in professional settings, or in new situations. As we delved deeper to understand why, here is what emerged: fear of rejection, fear of leaving ourselves vulnerable and being seen for our imperfections, fear of being judged (or worse, ridiculed), fear of not belonging and being ostracized.

i-h-1I just recently opened a letter to myself that I written at the age of 22.  That is now over 20 years.  I did not expect to wait so long to open it but I never felt ready.  At 22, I was caught up in a vicious food cycle that had basically taken over my life. I remember age 22 being a very tough time in my life; a time of feeling very unworthy and incomplete. I was open to change; I desired change.  It’s hard to believe how a simple exercise would truly impact my life.

logan_self_esteem1When I look at my son, I see a lot of myself in him.  And for the most part, that fills me with an immense sense of pride.   He’s got my eyes.  He’s shy around strangers, but is a serious show-man/entertainer around the people he trusts.  He’s gentle and a bit passive. He’s super smart and retains everything. He’s an observer.  I love that he has inherited these parts of me.  These are things I didn’t necessarily teach him, they are just an inevitable part of his DNA, of who he is.

post it note3 Insecurity at work is a career killer.  That said, we all experience it at one time or another.  That moment when you start a new job…or have a big presentation to make…or realize you are in over your head with that high profile project…your self-esteem plummets and you start to question yourself…“Can I really pull this off?”