UPDATE: This post was originally published in 2011. Cyndi no longer has The Sophia Project blog, and links to her article there are no longer working.
Heartspoken’s Connection Messenger, Cyndi Briggs, has done it again. Her post on The Sophia Project this morning entitled “I Write a Farewell Letter to My Insecurity” is a powerful manifesto to anyone who has allowed low self-esteem, their inner critic, insecurity, and judgment to paralyze them or deprive them of their full potential. She writes a letter to these imposters to formally sever her long-held relationship with them and tell them she’s moving on.
If you struggle with any of these “voices,” or if you know someone who does, Cyndi’s “good-bye letter” will inspire you. I hope you’ll read the whole post, but here’s her last paragraph:
I have much work to do in this lifetime. There is a call that is specifically mine and unique only to me. I must let you go in order to fulfill my promise. So with love, I release you into the ether, to reclaim my inheritance, and to give our wounded world everything I’ve got.
Cyndi’s message is a critical reminder of why I have included “Connection with Self” among the four connections I feel are essential to happiness and success. Cyndi has done the hard work of getting to know herself lovingly and honestly, and she has mustered the courage to recognize these insidious forces that would, if she let them, derail her from her highest potential. They threaten us all.
The message is so timely. During the holidays, we may be around family members who, often without knowing it, remind us of old insecurities, judgments, and criticism. Being aware of this will help you guard against their destructive power. Just acknowledge them and let them wash over you and out of your life. Stand in your own power. Embrace your beautiful self. Let your light shine.
I’d love to hear how you have dealt with insecurity in your life. Leave a comment below or join the conversation at my Facebook Page.
Ah, Elizabeth! I love this. I think you and Cynthia have shared such valuable wisdom. I especially love the reference to the potential for denying our healthy relationships with ourselves in light of the inferences from others–imagined or true–during the holidays. This is great instruction: Just acknowledge them and let them wash over you and out of your life. Stand in your own power. Embrace your beautiful self. Let your light shine.
Here’s to combining our lights one day!
I think insecurity invades everyone at one time or another. After a horrible marriage, I couldn’t even pump my own gas without thinking I’d screw it up. Thanks to loving family and friends, and my own inner tenacity, I’ve come a long way! I find that helping others, in little ways and big ways, makes me feel better about myself and my place in the world.
In the early ’90’s I began my journey to at least face some of the insecurities that often are so much a part of the fabric of our lives that we don’t even see them as invaders. For the past 15 years or so, taking strides to return to school, start a new “single” life (with 2 young daughters), buy a house on my own…all remind me of how stepping out of my comfort zone and denying the voices that say I can’t has made me stronger. So, for me, recalling the past helps me move forward into the future. I CAN do things and embrace who I am. When I begin to doubt myself or feel “less than”, revisiting those times makes me know I’ll continue to move toward self-realization and away from insecurities that would prevent me from finding my true self.