Guest post by licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitator Amy Egenberger
In business we are attentive to our customers, of course. We care about them and do our best to stand in their shoes, to see their point of view. We aim to satisfy. And when clients choose and experience our products and services, we listen to their feedback.
Before seeking that external input, however, we must find true approval elsewhere.
When we get overly focused on seeking approval from others, we can veer off track from our own inner guidance and true creative path. Yes, we have mentors, advisors, researchers and our customers to inform our decisions. But when it comes down to making business choices to navigate your way, you are the one who must approve.
What does it mean to receive your own stamp of approval?
Recent headaches have taught me about this. My chiropractor wrote out a surprising prescription with this affirmation from Louise Hay: “I love and approve of myself. I see myself and what I do with love.”
That got me wondering. What is it to really see myself and what I do with love? And how does that apply to business? I’ve come to see at least 3 varieties of love that roll into a biz stamp of self-approval:
1. Kind, compassionate love that is forgiving toward our shortcomings and missteps.
2. Encouraging, supportive love that marvels at our courage and applauds our progress.
3. Tough, strident love that tells us the truth, helps us get over ourselves, points to problems that need to be solved, and prompts us back on track when needed.
Authentic self-approval must be value-based and wisdom-led. This is not about blindly wielding our rubber-stamp or giving a thumbs up. Instead it is about accepting and appreciating ourselves and our business process with eyes wide open.
To see who you are and what you do with love, that is approval.
Nor is it about handing the stamp to the inner critic who does not readily approve of who we are, and frankly never will. Stingy with approval, the shadowy inner saboteur heralds perfectionism, rule-following, and fear of making messes or displeasing others to strangle our creativity.
This is where the love comes in.
Ordinary business tasks call for your creativity and thus a sprinkling of approval. Getting the webpage worded well, formatting an ad for a local paper, delivering a product, extending a service. What you put out in the world and how you choose to do that sails more smoothly with the energy of your loving “okay.”
Despite all the ways that our work could be improved, perfected or made agreeable to more people, what matters is that we practice trusting that we are doing the best we can. And we learn to trust that our best is good enough.
Far from apologizing, giving self-approval means acknowledging, accepting and appreciating the value of who you are and what your creative business offers the world.
And that is most certainly deserving of your approval.
Making way for creative action, Amy Egenberger, MEd., CPCC, is proud to be a Licensed Facilitator of the Right Brain Business Plan®. She is a seasoned educator, life coach, artist and founder of Spirit Out! Coaching. Amy helps people find the courage and clarity to get moving on their creative path. A book, a business, a project, a change… your creative spirit gets out! Amy is one of our licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitators.
Join Amy on May 10-11, 2013 for fun & focus to make your biz plan real. Right-Brain Business Plan® Workshop
Minneapolis, Minnesota http://spiritout.com/classes/rbbp
