by Amy Matthews | Oct 30, 2018 | In-Power |
Many of us undermine ourselves – every single day – without realizing it.
I don’t know about you but my parents taught me to be modest, humble and always care about others first. My dad – with his self deprecating humor – my mom a perfectionist not able to receive compliments. Both amazing people in their own right.
What did I learn? Instead of embracing my greatness, I playing small. I accommodated others. I learned other people’s needs and wants were more important than mine. So therefore, other people were more important than I was. Whoa.
Downplaying myself became the norm. Self doubt crept in. I became my worst critic. I felt inadequate. I adopted the belief of “I am not good enough.”
Sound familiar?
It took a long time to unravel those beliefs and behaviors. I am happy to say I no longer berate myself. I am much more forgiving of myself because I can say I love and accept myself…at least 90 percent of the time.
If I can do it, so can you.
You are powerful beyond measure. You are brilliant. Let your light shine.
by Amy Matthews | Oct 23, 2018 | In-Power |
The best laid plans often go awry.
When you finally decide to focus on yourself, to do something for you, whether it be hiring a coach, a trainer, psychologist or you sign up for that class you’ve wanted to take, inevitably something comes up and gets in the way.
Your Parents Need Help
A Client Has an Emergency
Your Child Gets Sick
Or the Puppy Gets Sick
We’re culturally programmed to take care of others first. So when others need our help, what do women do? We take something off our plate – the very thing we want and
need the most.
So how do we make ourselves a priority and not abandon our needs and wants?
We stay committed to ourselves. To what we want. To what we’ve agreed to do for ourselves. We ask for help. We find a way. Especially in the midst of chaos – when life feels uncontrollable and messy.
Even when shit hits the fan – make yourself a priority. You are Numero Uno.
by Amy Matthews | Oct 15, 2018 | Mindset |
You’ve heard me say this before.
We’re the ones who hold ourselves back from realizing our full potential.
Every single one of us – women and men – from an early age, believed what we were told or put our own spin on what others said to us – even if it wasn’t true.
We all have stories from early in our lives that have shaped us. Here’s one of mine.
I was with my older sister and a friend of hers, hanging out in the front yard after dinner. I was seven years old and much younger than they were. They wanted to ditch the little sister. My sister’s friend said to me: “You better go to bed, you need your beauty sleep.”
What I heard her say was: I was ugly. I held that belief for a very long time.
I had lunch this weekend with a prior client of mine. He’s super smart. I mean he’s brilliant. And successful. He told me this story:
Though he went to Columbia for undergrad and has a Stanford MBA, graduated top of his class, he never thought he was smart because he struggled as a child to learn how to read. He didn’t recognize he was smart until a CEO whom he worked for told him he was. He was 38 years old.
Each and everyone of us has bought into limiting beliefs that keep us small and feeling bad about ourselves. These beliefs and feelings are in past time.
What are you telling yourself that is getting in the way of what you want most?
I’m Not Smart Enough
I Don’t Have Time
I’m Too Old
I’m Not Thin Enough
What If I Fail
It’s up to you to be listen to your thought patterns. Question your beliefs and let go of the ones that don’t serve you. Because they aren’t true.
You Are Enough. You Can Do Anything. Yes You Can.
Unleash the Most Awesome Version of Yourself. It’s Time.
by Amy Matthews | Oct 9, 2018 | Inspiration |
I went to my high school reunion this weekend – which was an absolute blast. I stayed with a long time friend of mine, we met in 8th grade biology class. Lol. We share fond memories together. I was in her wedding. I knew her parents. I know her family. She knows mine. There’s nothing quite like a friend who has known you since you were fourteen, right? I am very grateful for our friendship.
Though we’re dear friends, we couldn’t be more different.
We have different perspectives, differing points of view, different beliefs. It occurred to me that our differences mirror what is happening in our country today.
I’m a big proponent of sharing your truth and what you stand for – even when others disagree or have a differing opinion. Stand for what you believe in, no matter what. Here’s a caveat. Always be kind and communicate with respect. You don’t need to make the other person wrong.
It’s our differences, not our similarities that make us grow.
Next time you’re talking with your spouse, partner, sibling, child, colleague or friend, be open and curious to their point of view. Listening to different perspectives keeps you open. It keeps you flexible. It makes you better.
Celebrate your differences.
by Amy Matthews | Oct 2, 2018 | Business, In-Power |
One thing is blatantly obvious after last week’s happenings. We have a long way to go to achieve gender equality.
We also have al long way to realizing gender leadership parity. Women make up 51% of the US population. More women get college degrees than men. Yet less than 5% of CEOs of public companies are women.
If you feel angry and outraged with these sobering statistics, you are not alone. The progress and results made to date don’t speak for the amount of hard work, effort and time we’ve put into trying to change the course of history.
Whether it be in politics or business, we can either focus on the positive or the negative. We always have a choice on how we show up. We can get mad. We can get even. Or we can direct our anger into positive action. Day in and day out, we can claim our power, own our grace, speak up and make our voices and opinions heard.
We will win in some situations and lose in others. One thing is for sure — we will continue to make progress and build momentum. We will realize gender equality. We will realize leadership parity. It’s just a matter of when.
Never lose sight of the goal. #Keep Going. Keep on Keeping On.
