Hi. I’m Gina. And I’m a recovering people pleaser.
You too?
Let’s not be too hard on ourselves, after all, we all like to be liked. We all like to make other people happy. But I liked to take it to the extreme.
I was a freaking Olympic gold-medalist when it came to people pleasing. I wasn’t just going to try to get an “atta girl,” oh no. That wasn’t enough. I decided to build my ENTIRE life around what I thought other people wanted me to do. Around what made other people comfortable.
Around what other people thought I was capable of.
An innocent comment of “you should really try…” and BOOM, I was shifting off course to try whatever it was.
A casual “I really wish you wouldn’t…” and BAM! I would drop any dream I was carrying and shift my attention to the wish of whoever was speaking.
As I look back, I realize how many opportunities I passed up on, relationships I stayed too long in, jobs I took, all because I was seeking approval.
Things I didn’t post. Books I didn’t write, all because I was afraid of upsetting, afraid to rock the boat, afraid someone would see my power, my words, my selfie and say, “Who does she think she is?”
You see we are taught to be humble. But too many of us misinterpret that as “stay small. Stay quiet. Stay hidden. And don’t for a minute celebrate yourself.”
“Humble” is praised as noble attribute. “Pride” is admonished as a trait of the shamefully arrogant. But have you ever read the dictionary definitions?
Humble. (adj.)- Having a low estimate of one’s own importance.
Proud. (adj.)- Feeling deep pleasure as a result of one’s own achievements.
Let that sink in for a minute.
I don’t know about you, but I’ll gladly choose being one proud mother f*cker over someone who underestimates my own importance in this world.
CELEBRATE yourself.
Celebrate your beauty and your wishes and your quirks and your weirdness. Celebrate the fact that you’re a mystic at heart, or an artist in your dreams or a lover of all things sacred.
Celebrate the fact that you’re alive, and have something to say, and have deep desires buried in your heart that are valid and deserve to be lived out.
Celebrate your selfie, because it takes COURAGE to get that intimate with yourself and then share it with the world.
My 2019 goal? At least 100 “humble” people a week shaking their heads at me and saying, “Who does she think she is?” And at least 75% of them realizing they are massively inspired by it.
I’d love it if you’d send me a selfie! You see me all the time. I would love to see and celebrate YOU! In my head we are already best friends. 😉
Hop over to my Facebook page, give it a like if you haven’t yet, and upload a selfie as a comment to this or any other post. Let me know who you are (who you really are, not just your name), how long you’ve been reading what I write, and what you enjoy or appreciate the most! Click here!
Here’s my selfie with my salt lamp for good vibes and fake sunlight.
