You’re not broken and all your gifts and unique qualities are just waiting to be shared with the world…don’t let time get away from you. Societal norms put you in a box, judge you on whether you conform or not and shun you for not falling in line. Forgive my bold opening to this week’s article, but I feel so strongly about anyone out there who is not leaning into your identity and leading with an “I am” vs. “I’m not” existence.

I’ll cut to the chase and share what you need to do as it transcends your personal, professional, family and community life and if not changed now will drain you of your purposeful existence.

• Assess the source and determine if they are still relevant when they say you are “not” something.
• If the source of saying you are “not” no longer exists, ask yourself why you still give it relevance. Let it go!
• Question the standard by which you are judged. Did you agree to the standard or is it what you were programmed to believe. If you did not create the standard, it may not be relevant.
• Ask yourself if you are happy with who you are? If yes, why do you let external factors define your happiness? Again, question everything and adopt an “I don’t care what they think” attitude.
• Does the dog like you? Do your kids like you? Do your colleagues like you? If yes, who cares? It’s a nice to have, but at the end of the day, do you like yourself?

LinkedIn is a professional platform and we keep it very high level about Opportunities and Challenges. None of it matters unless we focus on our identity and arrive at a place where you believe “I am” and really like who you are. Nothing else matters.

I’m writing this from a place of having traveled for two weeks followed by being sick for anther two weeks that slowed me down to a crawl. During that time, I’ve had a lot of time to think about my identity and how I see myself. When I’m happy with my existence and at the pace I wish to move through it, nothing else matters. Only good things come from knowing “I am” and not adopting the narratives of others’ standards and judging myself against “I’m not”.

Just my 2 cents to hopefully inspire you to move through this day, this week, this month with your head high and know you are amazing!

Reach out to me on my website to learn more about my support and how to contact me.

-Deb

Known as The Drop In CEO™, Deb’s superpower is lowering the temperature and elevating conversations with empathy and patience. As a speaker, author, podcaster, and consultant, she teaches C-Suite leaders how to establish a “Lift, Light, Lead” environment and create calm amidst chaos or crisis. She is the author of “The CEO’s Compass: Your Guide to Get Back on Track,” and, “The NEW CEO Playbook: Stop Chasing Results and Start Pursuing Peace of Mind.” Her long-running podcast, The Drop-In CEO, is in the top 1.5% globally among Apple podcasts.