How do you determine your value in life?
I had to learn how to believe in myself and give myself grace when I didn’t feel like I was enough. I had to question myself and figure out where these feelings were coming from. As I started to learn about myself, I realized that many of these emotional struggles stemmed from my childhood. These were the thoughts that I battled as a kid and never addressed as an adult. My emotional foundation was built on blocks of being unwanted, never being enough, feeling as though I was a disappointment and undeserving of love and acceptance. During this time in my life, I had to start addressing these feelings and changing the way I thought about myself. I had to start changing my negative self-talk into positive praise for myself. It felt silly at first but through positive daily affirmations, I was able to start believing in myself and growing my self-esteem. I became a stronger woman and role model because I was willing to choose to change the script that kept playing in my head. You too should evaluate your thoughts in those tough times and find the warrior and survivor that hides within your soul.
I did all of this through an exercise I call the mirror exercise. I wrote down affirmations of the person I wanted to be and the person I wanted people to see in me. I would look at myself in the mirror each morning and evening, looking directly into my eyes and repeat these affirmations out loud. I would do this to reprogram my subconscious into changing my beliefs of myself and becoming the person I decided to be. Some of my affirmations are listed below.
“I am a strong confident woman.”
“I am honest and hard working”
“I am dependable”
“I love myself and deserve to be loved”
View the previous post in the Reflections Series, “Losing a Loved One”
View the next post in the Reflections Series,“The Power Within”
From the book “Stuck in the Fire” By Christina Encarnacion
Get your copy here.
Stuck In The Fire is an interactive self-exploration book that pulls you in and allows you to be a part of the story. Christina shares her life experiences with you that have taught her how to navigate through this life on earth. She allows you into the halls of her heart and lets you learn through her own struggles of illness, loss, abuse and emotional turmoil so that you may be able to find strength, hope and understanding of why we must endure the pains of this world. She guides you through uncovering your own personal power that may be hiding inside of you and coaches you into harnessing it and fulfilling your life’s purpose.