Blog
Challenge yourself – lovingly
by Elizabeth Ruske
June 10, 2010
We all know people who are really hard on themselves; no matter what they do it isn’t good enough for some reason. As a parent, in an effort to motivate my sons I can sometimes give an impression their results are not good enough. I remember a few years ago, one of my business partners donated one of his kidneys to a woman at his church. It ranks up there as one of the most selfless acts I have ever witnessed. And yet, I vividly remember a conversation with him where we were rating ourselves on our ability to make a difference for others. Now keep in mind he was still recuperating from “kidney donating surgery” and (on a scale of 1-10) he rated himself an 8 in making a difference for others. My other partners and I just looked at him and said, “. . . my goodness, if giving a body part is only 80%, then what do you have to do to score 100?”
We all laughed because in that moment we all realized the insanity of what it looks like when we are so hard on ourselves.
Is it possible to produce the results you want without being so hard on yourself? YES! I believe we can produce results and do it with a lot of grace and ease. I think that is what I love most about the Tiara community of women . . . we love producing results, and getting what we want in life, and we expect to do so in a way that is inspiring and feels good. It doesn’t mean we don’t work hard, but rather, it never feels like hard work. In Tiara we challenge ourselves in a loving yet powerful way.
So as the second quarter of the year comes to a close, ask yourself two questions:
- what results do I want to produce for the rest of 2010?
- how do I want to feel while producing those results? i.e., like it is a lot of hard work or by enjoying all aspects of it?
Once you have decided what you want and how you want it to feel . . . now it’s time to take inspired actions and constantly encourage yourself in a loving and powerful way. It is possible. I believe the secret rests in finding a way to lovingly challenge yourself to achieve what you desire.
Share with us what you are intending to produce and how you want it to feel.
For me, I want to have our Tiara Partners completely booked with new clients – AND – I want to feel like I’m on an exciting ride at an amusement park – thrilling and exciting the whole time.
Wow! Your story really does put things in perspective! And thank you for creating Tiara – a community that does inspire results to happen in a way that feels good. Even when I know this can happen, it’s easy to slip back in to old habits and thinking that you can only produce results if you work hard (read: “suffer”). Thanks for the reminder, Beth!