Day 4 LBL: Value Your Gifts and Time

I’m still working on Day 3’s Fall in Love With Your Work assignment, which is a worksheet. So for blogging purposes, I will skip to Day 4, which is “Value Your Gifts and Time.”

Today’s journaling questions are

Where can you start practicing valuing yourself more highly today?

Where are you under-valuing yourself?

What do you need to start saying “no” to?

I got a little sick feeling inside when I even read these questions. Valuing myself, my gifts, and my time are definitely not my strong suit; and I’ve found it even more challenging lately. My natural tendencies as a caregiver and people-pleaser are to put others first at all times. I guess that’s why I started this blog. They say you teach what you most need to learn, and valuing myself can be one of the most difficult challenges I face in my work. Self-care practices are one thing, but self-care ATTITUDES are another.

So here goes:

I can start practicing valuing myself more highly today by not letting others tell me who I am and what I should be doing. It’s hard to try to create a liberation-based livelihood when people tell me it’s best to have a “JOB” for stability and benefits. It’s hard to keep doing what I’m doing when people are talking about me behind my back and saying that I can’t succeed in making this business happen. So my answer to #1 is saying out loud: I can create a liberation-based livelihood, and it can sustain my family and provide everything we need.

I am undervaluing myself by believing that my work is not important and by thinking that others cannot cherish my presence and friendship in their lives. I am tired of believing that my presence in the world cannot make a difference and that no one will value me. So my answer to #2 is saying out loud: I value myself by knowing that my work is important in the world and that others can and will and DO cherish my presence and friendship in their lives.

I need to start saying no to others’ fears and insecurities. I need to start saying yes to that still, small voice in my heart. I need to start saying yes to possibility and hope. I need to say yes to taking chances and living as if I can, because I CAN. No matter what anyone else tells me, I CAN. My answer to #3 is saying out loud. YES.

Until tomorrow….