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"Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve."

-Mary Kay Ash

As the picture to the left show, I love to surround myself with words of affirmation. Uplifting sayings abound on my desk, in notebooks, and pinned randomly on walls. However, I haven't given them much power over the years. My inner critic does an amazing job of distracting me. It's almost as if I see an encouraging saying or phrase and I purchase them as a talisman. Hoping to challenge my inner critic or at least vanquish it from resonating in my head. However, the critic was not going anywhere. I had given it carte blanche in my life.

However, I began to truly tire of not taking charge of my life. I was driven by a list of things I believed I could not do. To illustrate this, two weeks ago I was scrolling through Pinterest looking for pictures of some products that Lara Casey publishes on Cultivating What Matters. As I scrolled, I came across a workbook page titled, "What have you knowingly and uknowingly decided you cannot do?" I stopped scrolling immediately and thought I need to do this! I quickly grabbed my composition notebook from my purse (if you don't carry around a notebook to jot down thoughts, get one), and began jotting down a list as quickly as I could.

Next to each item I listed, I placed a qualifier. Each entry either challenged my value or made me consider how empowered I felt in life. Once I finished this list and had time to reflect on it, I took it to my weekly therapy session. My therapist encouraged me to give each task a number reflecting my fear or reservation in completeling it. From there we listed them from least to greatest. Note that "Jump out of a plane" was not on the original list. I said it in jest with a giggle. I think my therapist thought it was a challenge. Also note that she placed it before travel by self. I like that my therapist has a sense of humor.

So the first thing on my list was to write a blog. I gave it a three because I knew I could do it. I just hadn't. It's made me wonder over the last week how many things I just haven't done because their was a slight fear. When I wrote my list, I stated that I was concerned that people would not want to read it. Once I started writing, I changed the question to, "would I want to read it?" And the resounding answer is yes. I hope others will read it and have a take away. By writing and reflecting, I am learning about myself, and most importantly challenging my inner critic. I am building self-esteem. What an incredible gift to give myself.