Self-respect. It only comes from within. No one can give it to you.
But how do you know if you have it?
And, how do you get more?
That’s what this Monday Maxim is all about.
Today’s Monday Maxim
This your mental Vitamin B. Each Monday I share a little motivation & insight to start the week. You’ve got a lot of people depending on you. There is big work for you to do. So here’s a maxim for you, the smart, ambitious woman, to help you SHINE.
“No man who is occupied doing a very difficult thing, and doing it very well, ever loses his self-respect.” – George Bernard Shaw
As smart, ambitious women, we can get in our own way of having a healthy amount of self-respect. We only see what we haven’t accomplished, rather than what gets done.
Consider what you go through in a day:
- Taking care of others
- Keeping the house clean & in order
- Ensuring proper nutrition & exercise is taken care of for you & yours
- Work responsibilities
- Church responsibilities
- Volunteer & Civic duties
This is the list when everything is going right. You do so much on autopilot that you haven’t taken a moment to evaluate how much that is.
When Things Are Difficult
What about when it’s not going right? How do you get things in order?
Many women who are so excited and want to do something different. But when they turn around and look they just see a mess. How do you get things in order?
Lucille Ball once said, “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”
That is the missing piece here. There’s a lot of times where you see that the house is a mess, laundry is not caught up and you’ve got to do all of these different things and your cousin still needs that help and your support.
And you still have got to go take care of this and all of these things.
Start with just making sure you’re clear you know and you make the checklist of what has to happen each day and you continue and move forward. That’s how you ensure that you have even more to give to others is taking that 15 minutes of personal self-care.
Self-Care: the Best Productivity Secret
Maybe self-care for you is writing in your journal. Maybe it’s clicking on YouTube and watching that old episode of the show that you haven’t watched in 20 years that used to make you laugh so stinking hard.
Whatever it is that quick time helps you to get things in order because you are filled up.
You are taking care of you feel rejuvenated refreshed that you have even more to give to those around you. That is the best productivity secret that I have heard that nobody talks about self-respect. Taking care of yourself.
Making sure that you are on your calendar will save you hours and hours of time. To really love yourself is to really make sure that you are respecting, appreciating, and loving what is noble and good and those parts of you that sometimes we hide from the world.
To really love yourself, you must:
- Stop comparing yourself to others
- Start appreciating what makes you even more of YOU.
- Start finding ways to be more of yourself amidst the craziness of the world.
Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
You’ve just got to stop comparing yourself to others. You’re not even here to be just like somebody else. So why are you trying to do it, right?
I’m sick of magazines that tell you to, “Follow these seven steps and you’ll be able to do this perfectly…” because maybe you’re not supposed to do that. I have just learned that even though I love in the kitchen it doesn’t mean everything I cook is gonna be something beautiful. All I could tell you some stories.
Start appreciating those things that make you who you are. For example, I love to think of these random little ideas fun and creative ideas of a way to give someone a gift or a way to know just these little things that I never thought was a talent that is really something I love and it makes me laugh and giggle and when I share it with other people I can just see them laughing and giggling and enjoying that. And I just loved having that part of my life.
Find Your Things, Build More Self-Respect
Find those things for you. Start appreciating that part of you, then seek out ways to be more you amid a sea of this sameness. That’s how you start loving appreciating yourself. That’s how you start ensuring that rich self-respect and being able to get through that massive list of things that only you, that smart ambitious woman can get done.
Tell me in the comments below, How have you built more self-respect in your own life?
