Deborah just turned fifty-two and was sending her baby off to college. She loved raising her son and now longed to get back to her second passion as a nurse practitioner.
Deborah was at a crossroads about what area of medicine she would work; maybe consulting, family medicine or obstetrics. In the end she decided to work in the Emergency Room of a busy local hospital.
After a couple of weeks there Deborah felt exhausted, depressed, burnt out and ready to quit. She felt like she was too old and out of her element. Having never worked in the ER, she was not prepared for the onslaught of responsibilities and the epic learning curve required in her new role.
Deborah felt incompetent and hated answering to nurses twenty-plus years her junior.
Have you ever felt like you were in the wrong place and could not access your personal power?
Going for your dream
I remember when I decided to move my business from seeing private patients all day to leading workshops, groups online, and seeing coaching clients virtually.
I felt ill-equipped with the technology and that I could never master all of the intricacies of this way of doing my work. It seemed like you needed to be a millennial or younger to succeed at this kind of thing. But deep down I knew I had the skills to do the work, I would have to work extra hard to get comfortable with the unknown.
Standing in your power is about standing in your truth and being authentic. After beating myself for all that I didn’t know, I decided to treat myself with a little more patience, kindness and acceptance. I became clear that I was going for it despite my deficiencies.
And so I guided Deborah. I encouraged her to summon her inner strength and even in the face of all that she did not know in her field to go for it anyway. And to stand in her personal power—letting no one mess with her mind about what was possible.
Instead of coming home in the evening and judging herself for what she didn’t know, her task was to focus on and acknowledge all that she learned.
Standing in your power is about:
- Not letting others define you and certainly not accepting others’ judgments
- Stop allowing your self to be shamed for what you don’t know
- Valuing your self for putting your ass on the line and taking risks at any age!
- Loving your self unconditionally.
- Making a difference in the lives of others.
Going for what you want in life involves setbacks, disappointments and failures. And the more you go for it the better able you are to realize your dreams and create the life that you long for.
What are you willing to do to stand in your power and stop giving it away…so that you can create the life that YOU long for?
As always I love hearing from you and…read all of your comments and feedback.
