May 9 Cultivate Meaningful Work. Let go of self-doubt.

Affirmation: I love myself and who I am becoming.

(From mindfulambition.net)

Guidepost 9: Cultivating Meaningful Work, Letting Go of Self-Doubt and Supposed-To

Meaningful work doesn’t necessarily refer to how you earn a living. Brené Brown uses it to refer to the fact that we all have gifts and talents. And when we don’t use them, we feel distressed, because we know we’re capable of something more.

Committing to using these gifts and talents isn’t easy. One of the big barriers is doubting the fact that we have gifts in the first place. Or, defaulting to doing what we’re “supposed to” do to fit in.

I always tell my clients: “I don’t care what you feel like you should do. I only care about what you want to do.”

“Supposed-to” is a way of deferring to external sources. This is an attempt to keep you safe. (“If I do what others want, I’ll be okay…”) But in the process, it disconnects you from yourself.

Start practicing:

Reflect on what your unique gifts are, and start sharing them with the world. As Howard Thurman instructs: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

When you notice that you’re should-ing on yourself, pause and switch directions. Drop “should” and “supposed-to” from your vocabulary and replace it with “want.” (So “I should do X” becomes “I want to do X/Y/Z.”)