We spend years focusing on other people, things, and obligations until we find ourselves lost in the shuffle living someone else's version of who we should be.
Too often we focus on our weaknesses, even when those weaknesses are insignificant to our purpose. However, when we really tap into who we are and own our worth, we immediately cease living fragmented existences and begin living our true purposes, unapologetically.
Identifying and connecting with your passion/s is critical in influencing your growth trajectory.
Once that connection has been made, assessing your current position in relation to your passion is intuitive. Determining whether and how to bridge the gap is where the work begins.
A part of knowing yourself is recognizing your self-saboteurs.
Those internal influencer when, taken to the extreme, try to convince you that you’re not good enough or constantly stand between you and your dreams. Shirzad Chamine, in his New York Times best selling book, Positive Intelligence, describes ten saboteurs that work individually and collaboratively to take us off focus and derail out success and happiness.
Those self-saboteurs are, as Chamine notes:
- Judge - who not only beats you up for repeated mistakes, but also obsessively warns you against future mistakes.
- Victim - who feels unaccepted, put upon, and withdrawn.
- Pleaser - who caters to others at the expense of her own needs.
- Restless - the perpetual thrill-seeker.
- Hyper-Vigilant - the persistent worrier.
- Hyper-Achiever - who seeks validation and respect from continuous performance.
- Hyper-Rational - the overthinker
- Controller - who has an anxiety-based need to be in charge.
- Stickler - the consummate perfectionist.
- Avoider - who shuns unpleasant tasks and won't so "no" when necessary.
