Validation, Self-Approval, and Changing the World

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PINCH ME! I’m still in the pinch me phase….

If you follow me on socials (linked below) you’ll know that last Saturday I had a bucket list dream come true.

I got to meet a woman whose book changed my life forever, Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray Love. You likely saw the movie with Julia Roberts - which I also loved. BUT. THE. BOOK. If you have not read the book do yourself a favour and READ THE BOOK!!!!

Where It All Began

Quick backstory… when the book came out in 2006 I picked it up, laid on my couch on a Friday afternoon and began to read. I didn’t move until Sunday. I barely spoke. I barely ate. I devoured that book. Word for word. Line for line. It spoke directly to my soul. When I finished the book I laid there with it on my heart centre basking in all of the amazingness its pages had just gifted me.

I then opened it and started it again. Yup. I read it back-to-back. I wanted each and every word burned into my soul. And I succeeded 🙌

That book provided the diving board to catapult me into my audacious living journey that I continue to live, share, and guide daily.

The Journey to Revolutionizing Womanhood

Soooooo back to the now, one year ago Elizabeth Gilbert announced she was embarking on a Canadian speaking tour. And I bought VIP tickets for myself and my ride-or-die gal pal to go. My gal pal didn’t even know I bought VIP tickets! At first I thought it was a bit “extra” to buy the upgrade but it included a meet & greet, hug, and photo. AND OMG I’D GET TO HUG LIZ GILBERT, the woman whose book changed my life!!!!

Fast forward through 12 months of excitement and wardrobe debates and changes, accommodation bookings, and trip planning. Last Saturday FINALLY came and I can tell you on the flip side of the event that IT WAS THE BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE to purchase the VIP tickets and to attend the event. (So don’t ever doubt yourself, Beautiful!)

It was EVERYTHING I had dreamt and hoped it would be. And if you too are a fan of Liz Gilbert (we’re on a first named basis now 😉) I can tell you wholeheartedly that she is everything you hoped and dreamed she’d be. Wise. Witty. Caring. With the odd cuss word, too. She too is on a life journey to revolutionize womanhood.

I have SO MUCH to unpack from her 2 hour speaking engagement on Saturday. I will do that and because you are here in my VIP world, you will have first access to it as that all unfolds!

But there is something she shared that I wanted to share here with you and that I am adding into my evening ritual routine - a “Self-Approval Practice”. I love it and I’m sharing it so you can add it into your day or evening rituals. I’d also love you to share it with your ride-or-die gal pals, too. Because the more women that know and do this, the more it helps the journey to revolutionize womanhood globally 🙌

If you are like me (and like Liz) you grew up in a household where there was very little praise or approval handed out (again not slamming my fam-jam it just was how it was for me and as it likely was for them in their childhood). I had to REALLY do something epically amazing to get any approval whatsoever. How about you? Ponder that….

Can you agree with me that as women we rarely give ourselves credit for anything? We always think we could have and should have done better - done more. We think what we do is never ever enough.

Adding a Self-Approval Practice breaks that cycle and begins to heal those childhood tendencies that you see that need love and healing now.

It enables you to focus on what you did that was done or handled well. Even if that wasn’t so great for another (ie. holding a sacred boundary can affect others but help you).

The Self-Approval Practice

Here’s how this healing practice looks: it is taking a focused moment to contemplate the day you just walked through and finding the things that you “approve” of, like how you did something or handled something (or didn’t handle something). Even if that something was just managing to get through the day you had because living here, on this planet, in this era, as a woman is often challenging 🙌

So I invite you to take time every single day to do this.

Do it for you verbally. Do it in a journal. Do it out loud and maybe even into a mirror. Just do it. Then take time to verbally gift approval to those around you.

We are so quick to tell ourselves and others the things we or they did wrong, did not well enough, or could have done better. Let’s change that right here, right now 🙌

Let’s love on our Audacious self and others with self-approval.

What do you approve of that you did today? Reach out and let me know because I want to celebrate YOU in your self-approval practice.

Audaciously,

Sharon xo

PS: I invite you to pause here and think of one or more women in your circle that you could forward this blog to who you feel would benefit from learning about a Self-Approval Practice! Click the 3 dots at the top or icons below to send it along! She’ll appreciate you for it!