When Ida was a child, her mother always threatened her with God’s wrath: “God doesn’t love little girls who behave ugly.” When really provoked, she’d say, “God’s going to get you for that.”
God was used as a sort of “Boogie-man” whose main job was to “get” you. So she grew up thinking God was a harsh, petty, being who didn’t like people, and especially didn’t like her. That was a big piece of her self esteem.
It took Ida years to sort out how her mother had abused the name of God — literally taking it in vain — hiding behind it because she had no authority of her own.
You don’t have to be as powerless as Ida’s mother.
In fact, you can be the primary authority in your own life. Once you find your own authority, you’ll never again hide behind somebody else. Example: “Just wait till your father gets home, young man.” Ever hear that one? It’s a pretty common example.
When you claim your own power, you won’t feel the need to call in some other force to right the wrongs being done to you. It will be a simple thing to work things out and set matters right yourself.
Of course, this kind of change doesn’t usually come overnight. It doesn’t HAVE to be slow, but it usually is. Why? Simply because we are wading forward against years of precedent, against the weight of our own low self esteem. That’s a lot of inertia to move through.
There are cases here and there, now and then, of people who make sudden breakthroughs in self esteem, in wealth, or in personal power. That kind of fast breakthrough may be rare, but it could happen much more frequently.
The secret? Stop battling with the inertia. Instead, just go do what you’d be doing if you had already broken through. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
Mike Brescia, of ThinkRightNow.com tells about his early years trying to make a salesman of himself. It’s an amazing story. As I recall, he went two solid years without a single sale. Finally, he had no home and was living out of his van. He was one of the worst salesmen who ever walked the face of this earth.
And yet, when Mike finally got himself pointed in the right direction, his change was more than amazing. He began setting industry sales records that were unthinkable. Now he manufactures products that do for other people what he did for himself.
He became his own authority figure, and gave himself full permission to function at a level never seen before in any of the companies he served. From homeless to powerhouse.
But this power isn’t limited to sales. Not by a long shot. You can have that kind of authority and power in any phase of your life. Any.
Could you use a shift in self esteem like this?
Well, as illogical as it sounds, all you have to do is claim it… REALLY claim it. Then just start doing it as if you had a right to it. Because, after all, you do have that right.
by Charles Burke
Charles BurkeLevel: PlatinumCharles Burke, retired and living in Thailand, is the author of “inside the Minds of Winners” and “Command More Luck. His blog is located at …
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