SYTB 30: Enough Is Enough!

Start taking yourself seriously, already!

If you haven’t figured it out yet, this entire course has been about taking yourself seriously, taking your dreams seriously, taking your frustrations seriously, taking your fears seriously, taking your feelings seriously and saying “yes” to all of them. It’s about saying “yes” to you.

I think we spend so much time telling ourselves other people are right, other people are more worthy of our attention than we are of ourselves. We tell ourselves things like “family is more important than anything.” We forget sometimes we ARE that anything we put family ahead of. We can get mowed over by the weight of everybody else’s fears, frustrations, feeling and desires. We often keep saying “no” to ourselves, we think, because we can “handle” it.

I’m here as a reminder to you. If your relationships aren’t absolutely overflowing with love and joy and harmony, like 99% of the time; if your health is suffering and maybe you are not eating right or not as fit as you should be; if your stress level is weighing you down and compromising your health, your job and your relationships; if your work isn’t passionate and fulfilling; if your family situation is suffering from the dips in your moods or maybe the people in your life just suck; if your partnership isn’t blissful or maybe you don’t seem to have found that right person yet; and if your bank account has never seen better days, not because it’s wonderful now but simply because you never have enough for yourself- you are saying “no” to you more than you can handle. You aren’t doing anyone any favors not taking yourself seriously. Let other people handle their own shit. Seriously.

Think of someone you believe has really high standards for himself or herself. Think of someone you believe has very high self-esteem. Think of someone who other people take very seriously. When this person walks in a room, people give their full attention. I’m here to tell you that person didn’t get to this place by trying to “handle” everyone else’s bullshit. That person didn’t get respect without saying “no” to some people, some family, even. And that person didn’t get to be full of self-worth without taking herself seriously- or himself. You get the picture.

If you want to start getting the kind of respect you deserve (frankly, all good people deserve respect- that means you), you have to start saying “yes” to you.

You have to start asking yourself, what would so and so do? By so and so, I mean that person we just talked about. Now, it’s tempting to think of Jesus, but to be honest, most people don’t picture themselves trading places with Jesus. And Jesus also said “no” to Himself and made sacrifices. We talked about this before. Jesus went on the cross so you wouldn’t have to. But if you insist on asking, “what would Jesus do?” Taking sacrifice off the table, Jesus would turn over tables where He saw wrong doing. He wouldn’t wear a bullshit cootie shield into a house of the Lord! Jesus called out the hypocrites. Jesus hung out with some people that seemed like lowly people, but unlike the Pharisees who were hypocrites or always trying to gaslight Him or trip Him up, the people He hung with respected Him a LOT. He wasn’t kissing up to get approval, not even with His parents or His pastors. If you find yourself in a room of people who do not respect you, find another crowd. Find your crowd. There will be throngs of people out there who love you for who you are. There will be people who elevate you and can’t wait to see you and speak with you. You will see the feeling is mutual with them. It’s going to be a two way love story. This only happens when you love yourself, when you start to see that spark of magic inside you, and you honor it.

I can’t say what your magic is. If I know you well, I can probably guess. However, whatever it is, you are going to love it so much that it won’t matter if no one else on earth ever reciprocates that love for you. The bottom line is, find it and love it. Then, start saying “yes” to you. I know you are worth it. I can put my hand on my heart and feel it beating in my chest. I love this person SO MUCH just for breathing, just for being alive and letting me have this experience on this earth. You are the house for your soul. Your soul is also grateful and deeply in love with you for allowing him or her to be here (if souls have a gender).

Nevertheless, start understanding how serious your life is, how precious and priceless you are. The next time you find yourself asking if you should compromise because you feel you can handle it better than someone else, whatever shit show that “it” is that you were about to suck up for someone else, think of the precious and priceless life you are. Remind yourself that whatever sense of self-doubt might be holding you back, it’s this decision right fucking now to say “I can handle this, but I deserve better” that can change everything for you.

Once you start piecing these choices together, your life will take on a new quality. You’ll start to be one of these people with high standards. You will be seen positively as a person who doesn’t compromise. You’ll take yourself seriously, and others will start to see you as a person to take seriously. At some point, the people around you won’t think of any other way to see you. It starts with a belief. Then, you act on the belief as if it were true. Eventually, it will be true. You will be the person you always believed you could be.

I have given you the outline with these lessons on how to get there.

Now, it’s time for you to start investing in the dream. It’s time to make the choices of a person who is to be taken seriously.

If there was a lesson among the last 30 that is calling you to go back and dive further into, do it. If you are ready for a new level of harmony and success, what does that look like for you? Think about it.

Put that in your circle and keep saying “yes” to your boundaries.