How are you at receiving?

You might think, “sure, I like to get gifts.”

How do you feel about getting gifts from someone that you didn’t get a gift for or when someone gives you a gift for no reason?

That can be a little trickier.

What about when someone pays for your dinner? Are you okay with that?

What is your response when someone compliments you? Do you tell them every reason that you can think of that it’s not true or as good as they think it is?

“Your hair looks great!” Will you respond, “Oh! It’s so dirty, I haven’t washed it for a week, I didn’t even curl it, it is past due to be colored, I’m growing it out from a bad haircut…”

Some time back in my Mastermind Group we discussed receiving. We were challenged to answer ONLY “Thank you” when we got a compliment or someone wanted to give us something.

It was interesting to witness how many times I would deflect compliments.

The next part of our homework was to dive into why we would deflect or dismiss compliments or felt uneasy accepting gifts, meals, etc.

That took paying attention to how it felt in my body first so that I was aware of my emotions and thoughts.

Then a deep dive into journaling and more discussion to get down to the core of my discomfort.

What I realized is that it was hard for me to receive because I didn’t feel deserving of whatever it was, even a small compliment made me feel uncomfortable.

I didn’t feel deserving of other’s kindness or love because I didn’t feel it for myself. How could anyone be nice to me when I wasn’t nice to myself? Didn’t they know I wasn’t worthy of it?

We know our deepest secrets and thoughts and judge ourselves for them. We compare ourselves to others, thinking they don’t have secrets as unspeakable as our own.

Don’t we all have fears, worries, insecurities, and doubts inside us that we think would make us unlovable if others found out?

What if being vulnerable with a trusted person or group helped you realize that our struggles are similar; we’re more the same than we are different?

Being part of a mastermind group, a trusted group of peers, gave me a safe space to learn about myself and grow and expand in ways that I didn’t know was possible.

With the awareness I gained and the tools I learned; I was able to bring love to the parts of me that didn’t feel worthy of love and change the way I treated myself and witness others doing the same thing. I knew I was not alone in my struggles.

I spent much of my life trying to change my outer world by controlling and manipulating situations and people to get what I wanted. I thought that would make me feel better, and it did for a minute, until it didn’t, and I had to do more.

I didn’t realize that my inner world was creating my outer world, what I was feeling inside was showing up outside of me and much of it was negative.

I am responsible for creating the life I desire and deserve.

It starts inside. When we feel better inside, we’re not looking for others or circumstances to make us feel better, we own our power to create the life we dream of.

Because being in a mastermind group has empowered me to make changes in myself and my life, I’m excited to share what I’ve learned and am learning, so in May I’ll be starting a mastermind group. It will be a small group of individuals who are ready to make changes in themselves and their lives.

Some of the benefits of participating in a mastermind group are:

Receiving new insights and ideas.

Accountability.

Quickens your growth.

We’ll meet twice a month, 1 ½ – 2 hours via Zoom.

More information to follow.

For now, if you have any questions, please reach out to me at (573) 308-0493. I’m thrilled to share more about this wonderful opportunity.

When we change the world changes.