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Several months ago, I had the privilege of attending a United Way event called Grit & Grace and was completely inspired and blown away by this idea of perseverance and self-care. Those two concepts didn’t connect together for me previously, but they connected with me then and had a significant impact on me, especially with how I approach my personal time now.
After that event, I tracked Cheryle Jackson down – the woman behind the vision of Grit & Grace – and interviewed her for my Inspiring Leaders blog. Cheryle again blew me away and I knew that she had something special that she was going to bring to this world.
And she did. On Friday, I had the honor of attending the first official Grit & Grace Day – and personally was blessed by being able to serve nearly 20 women with a free coaching session to support their efforts in bettering themselves. Becoming a G2 Coach with Grit & Grace Day is something I am so incredibly proud of, but more than that, being able to be part of this movement that is 100% dedicated to inspiring women, giving them permission to own their authenticity, and the tools to step into their full selves is something I have always dreamed of.
While serving these women, I noticed a few themes that I want to share with you. My guess is that we’ve all felt this somewhere along the way – and as Elizabeth Gilbert says – “I want to normalize this for you. Its OK.”
Imposter syndrome is real – and it has no place in our lives. While we all have insecurities and that negative self-talk in our heads, we must accept ourselves for who we are and stop trying to be these perfect creatures that do not exist. We are perfect in our imperfection. The more we embrace that and own that, the more we can step into our own power and dominate.
As busy professionals, we often don’t take time to really ask ourselves what we want. Time and time again I have clients ask me to support them in figuring out what’s next for them professionally. Such a great question and not an easy one to answer – but the bigger question we should be asking ourselves is “what do we really want”. Only when we figure out what makes us tick, what makes us happy, and what makes our hearts beat faster, will we confidently know the answer to what’s next.
How do I get ahead is also a question I hear a lot. Sometimes that means getting a new job or a promotion – and sometimes it is just getting a grip on all of the competing priorities in our lives. This is where the essence of Grit & Grace comes to play too. Perseverance and an understanding of what we truly need – albeit rest might be part of that answer – the combination of those two things teaches us to honor our desires, our ambitions, and our whole self (mind, body and spirit).
And finally, at our heart of hearts, most of us don’t believe in ourselves. I know that sounds a little harsh, but when we have self-doubt, when we hold back from going for that new job because we don’t have all the experience, or when we completely disregard any appreciation for ourselves, we are basically buying into the gremlins in our heads and demonstrating that we aren’t good enough. But we are. You are. You are 100% amazing – and you are the only person in the world that has those amazing qualities and attributes to offer. You have the most unique combination of skills, experiences, personality traits, etc. You are amazingly you and when you are able to recognize that, you can walk with confidence in knowing that you rock. And you do!
So many other themes and topics from the day, but I wanted to share a few that rose up to the top for me. I hope that you find them helpful and know that when you are ready for that additional pep in your step, I am here for you.