The Need to Conform vs The Luxury of Being (and Loving) Yourself

Job interviews are tough.  We want to meet the criteria of being a team player while standing out and being unique.  I'm an individual, but not too much of one.  I love to be a part of a group, but am willing to be the leader if necessary.  Putting our best foot forward doesn't mean we are soulless drones, nor do we have to be rebels.  But to a certain extent in job interviews and in life we have to outwardly conform without losing ourselves in the process.

We learn that it's not OK to totally let down our guards.  It can be exhausting!!  Social media changed the game, freely sharing intimate details of our lives, but there was a backlash.  The parents of the social media generation began to caution their children - what you put online will stay with you the rest of your lives.  Be careful out there is cyberspace.  

If we share too much, it's awkward.  If we share too little, we are boring.  It's easy to understand why so many people don't fully love themselves when we are told to share only certain portions of ourselves in case our true identities are too different or unlikable.   

That is why loving ourselves must begin internally.  We are the only ones who know every thought, every action, every mistake.  When we love ourselves exactly as we are in this moment, we are able to project confidence beyond external perceptions.

I think about a mother giving unconditional love to her child, "yes, rain or shine, even when the world is against you and you have made mistakes that some would judge as unforgivable, I will always love you."  Then, I turn it around and say those same words to myself.  

We all make mistakes.  The bigger the life, the bigger the spotlight on our mistakes.  Knowing that we are enough, owning the past and learning from it, will allow us to enjoy the possibilities of life.  The goal is to enjoy life without being paralyzed with fear that people wouldn't like me if they really knew me.  

There's a hole for every peg, and we deserve to know we fit.  Because we are beautiful human beings. We are worthy and deserving of being loved.

Have a great day!!

Xo

Conni

Today's Mantra:  I choose to love myself exactly as I am in this moment.

Mantra for Every Day: I choose to send love to all; receiving love back multiplied in infinite proportions, creating and nurturing pathways of love.