It Is Time to Show Up for You?
Recently I have been talking with a few people about showing up for yourself and I decided to write more on the topic as it may be a nice reminder to show up for you and your dreams.
What Makes Up Your Life?
Most of us know how to show up for our career and / or business, however do we show up for the rest of our life and our whole Selves? Yes, your relationships, your health, your community and everything else that makes up your life?
What makes up your whole life? Over time, I have focused on twelve aspects of my life. These areas are 1. Career / Business, 2. Confidence / Emotional Awareness, 3. Giving / Contribution / Community, 4. Family / Friends, 5. Health / Body / Movement, 6. Intimate Relationship, 7. Leisure / Fun, 8. Money / Finances, 9. Personal Growth, 10. Self-Management, 11. Living Space / Physical Environment, and 12. Travel / Holidays.
The people I work with often tweak these areas for themselves, so I encourage you to do that also.
What Does It Mean to Show Up for You?
So now you know what makes up your life, what would it mean to you to show up and be whole-heartedly you in all areas of your life? Yes that means no more self-betrayal, abandonment or giving your power away. As we are unique, each person will have their own variations of what “showing up for yourself” means.
As a guide, I refer to showing up for yourself as knowing and taking care of your wholistic needs. Yes – that means investing time in coming home to you and paying attention to what matter most to you. For me it means –
- realising I can start again,
- knowing I am human not broken,
- speaking up for myself even when my voice shakes,
- taking responsibility, even when it is uncomfortable,
- being there for people who need support, ,
- forgiving myself (and others when I choose to) as many times as you need to,
- celebrating my accomplishments and being seen (ok this is a tad harder),
- recognising my own mind, body and emotional needs, and
- trusting my own intuition and inner guides.
What does it mean for you and how do you show up for yourself in your life?
5 Simple Ways to Start Showing Up for Yourself
As identified above, we are each unique and will have different ways to show up for ourselves. However, following are some simple ways that
1. Increasing Self-Knowledge –
Do you know your passions, your deepest fears, vision, purpose. Getting to know yourself is an adventure and when we go on this adventure we discover as the Tao the Ching says –
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.”
2. Practising Regular Self-Care –
This one took me a while to realise, however little by little when I regularly take care of myself, I find that I have more to give to other people as I have the energy.
“Nourishing yourself in a way that helps you blossom in the direction you want to go is attainable, and you are worth the effort.” ~ Deborah Day.
3. Know Your Personal Boundaries
There are many reasons to have personal boundaries, however they really depend on the individual as every person is different and has had contrasting experiences in their lives. For me one of the reasons personal boundaries are important is identified in the following quote by Brené Brown –
“When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated.”
4. Practising Emotional Literacy –
Trust me, I know vulnerability is challenging (well maybe it is just me), however learning and then practising emotional literacy has truly been a gift in (un)learning to get unstuck. As Eckhart Tolle has said –
“Feelings will get you closer to who you really are than thinking.“
5. Knowing and Developing Your Values –
Values are one element that drive behaviours, so not knowing your own values can put you at risk of living someone else’s life and not living your own potential. His Holiness the Dalai Lama says –
“Developing inner values is much like physical exercise. The more we train our abilities, the stronger they become. The difference is that, unlike the body, when it comes to training the mind, there is no limit to how far we can go.”
Over to You…
I hope this post has given you some insight in to what it means to show up for you. For me, showing up for my Self continues to be a practise that and have a sneaky feeling it will continue to be as it still challenges me.
If you have any questions, please write them below. If you are ready to take yourself on the adventure of getting to know yourself (your true self), why not join the Toolkit? A place where I share tools, inspiration and ideas to live a courageous and openhearted life.
“Vulnerability is about showing up and being seen. It’s tough to do that when we’re terrified about what people might see or think.”
– Brené Brown