Change Your Self Image For Greater Success

By Ghislaine Mahler

One of the key elements of living beyond recovery is to achieve more success in our life. Whether you focus on your career, your finances, your relationships, or other areas, does not matter. The bottom line is that in order to increase success you must change your self-image.

Let's face it, out there we had either a very poor self-image or none at all. I remember feeling very insecure. The sense I had of myself was that of a "fraud," a "mistake," someone who didn't belong and didn't have the right to even breathe! Once in recovery, I walked down a slow path of "repair" to heal all my emotional and physical wounds. A couple of days ago, I had my 22nd birthday/anniversary of sobriety. I was walking my dog that morning, thinking how proud I was of myself for that. Yes, it's all been one-day-at-a-time, but I am the one who achieved that. Twenty-two years!! That calls for BIG celebration of my spirit, for a prayer of huge gratitude and joy!

Humility is a good thing when it is felt and expressed in a healthy way. When it is used to keep yourself feeling small and inadequate, it is unhealthy and self-destructive. So we step into a new realm, that of success. We must recognize and acknowledge all our successes, the small ones as well as the big ones. Are you the kind of person who says "Oh, that was nothing" when someone compliments you on one of your successes? I used to do that. A couple of years ago, I did a very courageous thing at a transformational seminar. Most people around me were terrified to do what we were required. I was a bit nervous but I knew that I would succeed because I wasn't giving myself the option to fail. Once done, the facilitator asked for a show of hands of people who thought it wasn't a big deal. I raised my hand. He said "if you can't celebrate your successes, you are in big trouble!" I realized how right on he was. I was in the habit of doing great things but, I was letting my past circumstances dictate my current self-image. Result? Perpetrating that poor self-image, thus creating poor results.

I made a change in my life that day - I stepped into a new self-image. I came to accept seeing myself as a highly successful person, someone who succeeds in everything I do. Wow, how profound that was and still is today. My life hasn't been the same since. Every day I spend a few minutes stretching and improving my self image in the direction and areas of my life, to create the changes I want.

Coaching Question: How is your self image today? Is it in need of some "remodeling?" Are you still hanging on to the old sense of yourself, maybe one of failure? Are you still allowing your mind to tell you you're not good enough and that success is for others, or that it's bad?

This week, start a success journal. Spend a few minutes every night to write down at least five successes. Watch your mind as you write down your list - is it minimizing what you've done? Small achievements are as important as the big ones! You don't have to be superman or superwoman to have a healthy and successful self-image. It is time for a change. Celebrate YOU!

Ghislaine Mahler is the founder and the driving force behind Living Beyond Recovery. She has been a Life and Executive Coach for the past 12 years and in continuous recovery since 1986. You can contact her at info@LivingBeyondRecovery.com or 203-691-6467.

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