A happy, freer life is possible
I recently got back from my idea of the perfect vacation. I explored my ancestors' homeland, got lost for hours in history museums, connected with new and old friends, and swam in the Baltic Sea almost daily. And I did a considerable portion of it all by myself.Yesterday, a friend called me courageous to give myself the time off to travel and do it alone. Suddenly, I was very proud of myself as I reflected on all the things I've done that led up to liking myself enough to make this trip happen.As I've said before, I spent decades of my life feeling too much and not enough at the same time. Constantly comparing my insides to everyone else's insides, I needed outside validation––meaning I needed you to like me––so I could be okay. I had all sorts of coping mechanisms to hide my feelings of inadequacy from the outside world. Mostly, I would do my best to squeeze myself into whatever box I thought you (insert: friend, family member, co-worker, lover, or even acquaintance) wanted me to be in. I would have never shown you my "nerdy" history loving parts because that was too uncool and, therefore, embarrassing.But all that did was leave me with no idea what kind of music I listened to or what I wanted for dinner. My catchphrase was, "Whatever you want is fine." So how could I ever plan my ideal getaway with no sense of self? Add to that, I was too busy caretaking everyone else to give myself permission to take time off. I'm telling you this because I'm currently enrolling in a nine-week group workshop starting mid-October. I want to pass on to you the exact things taught to me so that I could begin to discover I was worthy and stop needing outside validation. I.e., the things that gave me the confidence to show up for my ideal vacation!
- Uncover what thoughts, feelings, and actions are serving you and which are not so you can embrace what works and discard what's not.
- Break free from all those coping mechanisms and stories you're telling yourself that squeeze you into someone else's box.
- Learn how to navigate and set boundaries so you can have the space to love yourself and the other person at the same time.
All this leads to true self-acceptance, which ultimately leads to a happy, freer life filled with your own personal style of fun. I'd love to offer you a free Self-Acceptance Session. Together, we can get clear on what you deeply desire and what's holding you back from getting there.
P.S. Here's what a group member from my last workshop shared:
"I came to the workshop wanting to find compassion for myself. I was tired of the "not good enough" loop in my head. The class helped me to peel back emotions and understand the feeling behind the feeling." Emma
Jaclyn McCabe
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