Over the course of my life, I have battled with insecurities. Many stemmed from circumstance but others were made up in my mind. I carried them on my shoulders in every scenario of life which, I know now, made things more difficult than they needed to be.
These insecurities consisted of:
- My height – Being of small stature made me a target growing up. For some reason, tall people like making fun of shorter people.
- My weight – When I was young I was considered fat, although nowadays it’s considered thick. My weight fluctuated throughout life and I never felt good enough.
- My looks – I felt other girls were prettier than me especially because I wore glasses. I believed if I didn’t look a certain way, I was hideous.
- My genius – I was tested as a child which meant a tremendous amount of pressure to “be smart” by family, educators, and others. When I didn’t excel easily I believed I wasn’t smart at all.
- My career/job – I always felt I was behind the eight ball with my career. In the job circuit, I was passed over for promotions on more than one occasion due to my gender, race, and/or religion.
- My financial standings – I come from a family that is well off and I always judged my bank account. Also, sometimes I didn’t have enough to get what I needed, let alone what I wanted.
- My mental and emotional toughness – The traumas in my life made me believe I wasn’t worthy. I also believed I would never be more than a reaction to that trauma. Being diagnosed with bipolar disorder definitely didn’t help matters.
- My geographic location – I felt my environment played a part in my unhappiness. If I could just “go elsewhere” I would be better.
- My habits (good and bad) – I loved to read as a kid and was teased relentlessly for it. I developed unflattering addictions as an adult I was ashamed of.
All of these insecurities had a chokehold on me and it got to the point I couldn’t breathe. I questioned every move I made. I second-guessed every decision. I became paralyzed with the belief of all these things and my growth was stagnant.
One day I woke up to reality.
These things were only true if I kept believing they were facts. I had to dig deep down within myself to:
- Find the source
- Come to terms with what I found
- Work towards changing these limiting beliefs
It took a lot of work and asking myself hard questions. I had to face the truths I found and utilize them to create a new reality. I never thought after holding onto so many insecurities for the majority of my life, I would be able to rid myself of them by simply choosing not to believe them any longer.
Seems simple, right?
Wrong. The process goes deep and can be intense at times. Some things were found I wasn’t quite ready to face. However, I knew I needed to heal if I was ever going to make an impact on this world.
What insecurities have you dealt with in your life? How are you handling them now? Leave your answers in the comments. I love to hear your thoughts.
I went through this process completely on my own, however, you don’t have to face your insecurities alone. With a 45-minute consultation, I could help lead you in the right direction.
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