Let me start by asking you 2 questions:

Do you really believe in yourself?
or
Are you holding yourself back?

Up to 90% of what holds people back is self-perception.
So, what is self-perception?
It’s the the ideas that you have about the kind of person you are. It’s the views we have about ourselves, our characteristics, and the judgments we make about the traits we have and who we are.

Self-perceptions, or the beliefs we have about ourselves, exert a powerful influence on our lives. From the way we see ourselves and what we are worthy of, to the likelihood of pushing our comfort zones and pursuing our dreams. They dramatically impact the boundaries we set in our lives and speaking up for what we want and need.

A low self-perception of ourselves can lead us to partake in behaviours that are unhealthy and work against us, even damage us. It can keep us playing small, using masks to hide our true selves behind because we think that the real us isn’t good enough as she is.

So, how do we know if we have a low perception of ourselves?

Think about these questions:

  • Do you compare yourself to others?
  • Do you constantly doubt yourself?
  • Do you feel like an imposter, like you’re not really the person others see you as?
  • Do you let fear get in the way…and win?

I was speaking to a new client recently as she said told me these thoughts and doubts constantly run through her mind:
“Who am I to be successful and ask for the promotion I want, to want more than I already have?” She told me she feels bad for not being happy with what she already has. That she feels greedy, unworthy and that she will be judged for wanting, and asking, for more. She shared with me that she feels stuck – that she goes so far and then a voice in her head says “Who do you think you are? Others can do so much better than you. You’re not ready nor deserved of asking for more”

Does any of this sound familiar?

So, what do we do about it?

How can we get over these feelings, turn our self-perception around and see ourselves in a healthy, empowered way?

One of the first, and incredibly important, steps is to start to turn those thoughts around.
Change your thinking and your self-talk.

Tell yourself instead “How can I not share my wisdom, my skills, my voice, my experiences”.
Sure, this may not resonate at first. It’s likely you will hear that old voice arguing with you, telling you all the reasons why this isn’t true. But keep doing it. Give everything you’ve got to drowning out that negative voice!

You see, the mind has one job to do and that is to help you survive. And it doesn’t have a filter to know whether the thoughts and words we feed it are good or bad. Healthy or unhealthy. Right or wrong. It can and will only ever act on the thoughts, images and words that we feed it.

So why not make the words we feed it loving, kind, encouraging, empowering?
Our mind can either be our best friend or our worst enemy – and the truth is, we get to choose which of those we live with.

Change always begins within and when we start to change the way we speak to ourselves we can’t not start to see changes in our outer lives as well. Our outer worlds can only and ever be a complete manifestation of our inner world.
So make your inner world, your self-perception, a kind and self-compassionate place.
Start to tell yourself a new story. And start right now.

Take action – everyday.
Even the smallest steps taken regularly lead to change and create new habits. Start small and build on that. Create a strong foundation of positive self-perception so you can keep building on that strong foundation.

Let’s use an analogy of a building. If a building doesn’t have a strong foundation then a tall structure can’t be built on top of it. With the slightest change in the weather it’ll be damaged or, at worst, come tumbling down.
But if there is a strong foundation in place, the skies the limit! You can build a skyscraper on top of it and it’ll stand there, tall and proud, no matter what weather is going on around it.

Start telling your mind what you really want.
What you want from life, from your relationships, your career, your family, financially.
Take the time to get clear about what it is that you really want. And dream big! Get crystal clear of your vision for living the life that you truly desire (and deserve!) and start believing that it is already yours.
You know you want to, so why not start right now?

Become the Observer.
Think about something you really want to do, achieve, experience or have in your life. Then watch for objections. For negative thoughts, reasons your mind tells you you’re not worthy of it, don’t deserve it. Watch it start to compare your to others. To come up with excuses.

As they come up start to tell yourself the opposite. Tell yourself all the reasons you can have it, why you do deserve it, that your absolutely are good enough to have what it is that you want.

What have you got to lose?

And start today!
Why put off until tomorrow, or for another second, what we can do right now, this very moment?

Isn’t it time to live with a healthy self-perception, one that believes in and encourages you?