Take a back seat and listen to your own words, while discovering hidden treasures and power through listening deeply to yourself as you live your life!

The other day, one of my clients, Meira, said something to me about how she gives up everything in order to get her partner’s love.

Immediately, I stopped her and asked her to listen to what she was saying:

“I give up everything because I want him to love me. I try to do everything for him to get his love.”

She listened, and then groaned, “Oh, I am trying to control how I get his love.”

Me:   “Yes, and how is that working for you?”

Meira:  “It is never enough. He always wants more. He says if I really love him I will just do everything for him. The problem is I never have anytime for me. And I am never good enough and it is never enough. Then I don’t have time to get my business off the ground, so then I am dependent on him for money even though I do all the domestic work. He expects me to ask for money, nothing goes into my bank account or a joint account. It is terrible I feel like I am on a merry go around and I can not get off.”

Me:  “Meira, you just said that you are not good enough. Do you really think you are not good enough?”

Meira:  “No, of course I am good enough. I just feel stuck on this merry go round and I can not get off.”

Me:  “Let’s stop for a minute and listen to the words you used. Pretend you are listening to someone else saying, ‘I try to get someone to love me.’

Do you really think that you need to do things for a partner to “get” their love? Think about it for a minute.

Who do you really love? Do they have to do anything for you to be loved by you? Or do you love them for who they are? Do you only love your kids if they do things for you? Do you only love your parents if they do things for you?”

Meira:  “No, of course not. I love my Mum and Dad, I love my kids because I love my kids. I love my Mum and Dad because I love my Mum and Dad.

Me:   “How does it make you feel when you say, ‘I am not good enough?’”

Meira:  “I feel like a slave in chains.”

Me:  “Take a moment to breathe into your body; what does that feel like?”

Meira:  “Desperation, despair, frustration, anger, shame, a victim. I hate myself for getting into this situation. I then get cross and resentful and he says I am a terrible person. Then I have to make up for getting cross. I feel ashamed, I feel judged, I judge myself. I feel I am not a good enough partner.”

Me:  “Do you really believe you are unworthy? What if you started saying, ‘I am worthy, just because I am who I am!’ What do you need to give up to get unstuck?”

Meira:  “I guess I need to give up trying to get his love. And accept that he either does love me for who I am or he doesn’t.”

Me:  “And who do you need to do things for to get your business going, to have time for your friends and for your recreation?”

Meira:  “Oh, I guess me. I have to do things for me. It is going to be so hard to care for me—I am so used to thinking I have to do everything for everyone else to get love.”

Me:  “Yes, it is going to be hard. You can choose to be gentle and loving to yourself. So, what are you going to choose?”

Meira and I talked for a while.

She realized that for her entire life, she thought that she had to do things for others in order to be loved—but the one person she forgot to do things for and love was herself.

Everyone around her got used to her being there for them. She felt flattened from doing everything for everyone she loved in her life and she had no time for herself. She was depleted of energy as no one was giving to her and she was not giving to herself.

She hadn’t realized that if she didn’t take care of herself, she couldn’t take care of anyone else.  She didn’t realize that she had unconsciously bellieved that if she did things for everyone else they would do things for her.

She was shocked to realize that it just doesn’t work like that.

Disclaimer:  Please note in all of my blogs I change the names of my clients and friends and make them anonymous.

My journey has taken me down many paths—on each path I have deepened my own wisdom and my ability to guide others to find their truth and give themselves the courage and the freedom to live a life that makes them come fully alive! I have been a teacher, a high flying consultant, a housewife, a mother, a caretaker for my dying Mother, a mosaic artist, a facilitator, a gardener, a researcher, an investor, a roadie for an Irish harpist, a coach and more. Now as I grow into eldership, I am sowing the seeds I have gathered of truth and wisdom so that I may help others on their journey, while I grow into my new role as author. Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn—or send me an email at [email protected].

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Editor:  April Dawn Ricchuito

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