Sharing Resources to Help You Grow Personally, Professionally & Financially

Sometimes it helps to get a little dose of encouragement—along with a good cup of coffee!—to start the day.

Hopefully, the message below will help you get off to a good start for the week. Please feel free to forward the newsletter to others you think would benefit from the content.

---

Insecurity

---

I doubt there are many adults who haven’t, at some point, been scared by the noises they heard once the lights were turned out at bedtime. Whether it’s some sort of primal fear or something else driving this feeling, one thing is certain: we all have areas in our lives where we feel insecure.

For some, it’s their physical appearance. For others, it’s their relationships, their jobs, or even an unexplainable feeling of uneasiness.

When I feel that sense of insecurity creeping in, I find it extremely helpful to ask myself, “Why do I feel this way?” Then, I dive deeper by continuing to ask “why” to each answer I uncover—five times in total.

(Admittedly, this habit may have contributed to my mother’s frequent question: “Why did I have this child?”)

What usually happens is this: I either uncover a false belief at the root of my insecurity or identify something I can control or change. In either case, the process often helps me break the feeling down to its core driver.

While the insecurity doesn’t immediately disappear, focusing on the process helps me shift attention away from the emotion itself. With repeated cycles, I find clarity and start to address the actual issue.

There’s no doubt that feelings are real and can profoundly affect us—both physically and emotionally. However, I also believe that many of our insecurities are based on beliefs that aren’t grounded in reality.

This brings me back to one of my favorite quotes from Stephen Covey:

“All things are created twice; first mentally; then physically.”

If that’s true, the corollary is powerful: if you can see it in your mind’s eye, you can create it in reality.

That brings us to this week’s question:

• Are your feelings of insecurity based on reality?

Thanks for sharing a bit of your time with me this Monday morning.  

Have a great week!

---

Blog post from this past week:

Monday Morning Motivation - Middle