From comparison….. to confidence
This picture was taken when I was 17 years old and I was a cheer instructor for UCA. At the time I had graduated from high school and my aspirations of going to college and cheering were gone because I chose a school that was #1 in the nation and my cheerleading skills didn’t match their criteria. So working for UCA gave me the opportunity to stay in the cheer world as well as travel and work with fun people every weekend.
Looking at this picture I see a young girl who was going after what she wanted. She was brave. She confidently traveled to new cities every week. She met new people and experienced life outside of her comfort zone. She lived life to the fullest and oozed with confidence…..But that was not the reality.
The reality was that this girl was stuck in a comparison game with everyone around her and she ALWAYS came up short. Other girls were better in every way and she was never good enough (in her own eyes at least). She was insecure and sought out external validation to find her worth. She sunk down and hid from conflict just to make everyone else happy.
Anyone that knows me now would not believe that this kind of internal dialogue was possible as I often encourage and inspire women to stand for what they want and to be confident in their decisions.
I’m so fascinated to look at this picture now, because I can see the pain in her eyes. The pain of not being good enough and thinking that doing this heel stretch was going to make her be one with the other girls.
Looking back, I can see that my mindset was the ONLY thing that needed to change to make me feel like I was equivalent to the other girls. I thought that changing external situations was going to give me internal results. I thought that doing the things that they could do would make me feel confident and worthy, but I had such a hardwired system of not thinking I was good enough, that no level of stunting could have undone.
I share this story to bring awareness to the fact that change is possible. You may be a person that seeks external validation or maybe you are comparing yourself to others and never feeling like you measure up? Are you searching for things to change in your life so that you can feel “good enough”?
I’m here to tell you that you can get results from changing your actions, but your results may not be lasting. If you are seeking a lasting change in your results, you’ve got to learn how to shift your mindset! Shifting your mindset can be done in many ways, but I would love to share with you the methods that have helped me tremendously in my own life! Book a call today and let me share the magic of coaching!!!
In Love
Kristie