Self Advocacy- The Self Worth Challenge

I've been learning quite a bit about the process of being a good advocate for oneself. It's a process, which is tied into feelings of self worth, security, as well as taking action. I've found we often do not advocate for ourselves because of a lack of our belief in one of the above aforementioned areas. 

Often, advocacy is needed at times when the outcome is of utmost importance to our ability to survive and thrive. Being an advocate for yourself may go against the grain of societal politeness. Being an advocate for yourself often means speaking up to someone who may hold some sort of power over you, say for example, your doctor or your boss. It can be nerve wracking to speak up to one of these people in a position of power, as they appear to hold so much of your fate in their hands. The trick to advocating for yourself comes from the depths of understanding your own self worth. I like to think of it as a poker game. If you were to determine the hand of cards you have, would you put mostly Aces in your hand?, or would you settle for a big ole bunch of 2's?! It's true that we are handed certain cards at times in our lives, but you always have the chance to trade in, trade up or trade away. What you do with your cards and how you play them is directly related to your own feelings of self worth and advocacy. You first have to believe that you are worth it before you can make your move. 

This process of becoming a strong self-advocate invites you to call upon the brave soldier that always resides deep down within. You can call upon this brave soul to support you in speaking up for your needs at any time. Remember, your advocacy voice lets others know that you are determined to shine and in doing so, you naturally invite others to shine and speak up for themselves as well. It is an absolute essential to speak up for your worth when you feel it is being diminished, disregarded, disrespected or otherwise. We all to often keep our mouths closed out of fear that what we speak will not be honored, heard or valued. We may fear we will lose our job, or our doctor will not give us the best care. However, you have to be willing to show your cards and trade up when you feel you've been given a bad hand. Nothing will change if you lay silent. 

Go forth and shine y'all. I know you all are more than worth it :-)

~ Rooted L

 

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