[CLIQUE AQUI PARA LER EM PORTUGUÊS]

I am writing this note today to clarify and hopefully change the way a few of my clients and peers think of themselves… I hear a lot of limiting affirmations such as “This is just the way I was born”, or, “I’ve always been this way”, or even very harsh words such as “I am just plain stupid and this is who I am…” Hopefully after you read this, you will realize that you have FULL control over the person you are today and can become the person you want to be at anytime!!! Don’t like yourself as you are? CHANGE!

I started forming my persona based on what I learned from my first masters and teachers, my parents… I also had a nanny that taught me a lot and loved me as her own. These were my first exposures to the creation of who I would become.

Later on, I learned what I should / should not do to be considered a “good girl”. I also learned about the things I was good at and the ones I was “supposedly” not so good at. As a child mirroring and learning, I took those lessons as if they were my definite truths and what I learned back then was carried with me as was growing up.

Let me make sure to mention I am not blaming anyone for who I was before I became the person I am today; I am just making a point to show you how our belief systems are created and ingrained in our brains as if they were the ultimate and absolute truth. Just for the record, I understand parents give the best they know to raise their children, with the best intentions possible…

As I grew up, I started learning more from others, and mommy and daddy’s lessons were upgraded with the out of the shell version of me. I was then exposed to teachers at school who also taught me more about what I was good and not good at. I made new friends that would admire me for being a certain way and others who would hate me for the same reasons… It was a bit confusing to add these new concepts to the one I had already made up for myself.

At different life stages, the repertoire about what I learned to be true about me kept growing. Then I  learned some more and added even more “baggage” to what I “thought” I could or could not do and was capable of doing or not doing.

You see, the same way I learned what I could and could not do from my observer’s points of view, I also learned to feel empowered from what I learned with therapy, holistic healers, counselors, coaches, or from reading a ton of self-development books and taking many courses. It was then that I realized I could become whoever I wanted to, if I really wanted to…

I started my self-discovery journey when I moved to the US from Brazil, where life became my teacher and I became the ultimate observer… I started seeing, feeling and hearing the person I truly was and for the very first time, I started accepting and loving myself… I was exposed to the most diversified types of learnings and I opened myself up to build the Cris I knew I was born to be, the way I wanted her to be.

All I truly desire for you right now is that you begin to understand that most limitations you believe to have are self imposed; they are based on old beliefs created as you learned about yourself based on the vision shared by others. They are stories created they are NOT the truth!!!

There are so many ways to grow and reinvent yourself… All you have to do is to accept taking a few roads less traveled to explore the learning, be open, be flexible, be curious and truly loving. You will need your own support to build these backbones, and if you are too hard on yourself you will not make it. You must above all, have compassion for yourself the same way you have for a child learning to give their first steps. Read, take courses, invest in your growth, work with a coach, be open to falling and rising back up stronger, and always give yourself acknowledgements and respect your willingness to explore.

No, it is not an easy ride, but I can tell you it is totally worth it! And once you master the art of becoming whoever you desire to be, the world becomes your oyster. Keep in mind, the path to your growth is constant and to get there, you need to be willing to know and love the fact that… You will never get there! There will always be something else, something even greater to learn and help your continuous growth, as growing brings within the greatest gift of all: the gift of giving and contributing!

‘The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.’ – Albert Einstein

Receive, fail, grow and contribute. The warmth in your heart and all your accomplishments will make you feel and be seen as an overnight success. Success is about how wealthy you feel on the inside. Success is to smile when you think of what others will be saying about you in the future… Success is not allowing the ego to take over and stop your growth.

And when you are ready to further explore the potential within and your true greatness, go ahead and schedule your 30 Min. Experience Session. When is NOW a good time to get started?

Make it outstanding!

Coach Cris.

---

Did you like this article? Click  here to receive ‘The Phoenix Journal’ with free self-coaching tips, event notifications and much more. Start your transformation today!