Without Your Consent

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."  - Eleanor Roosevelt

How many of us, daily allow others to make us feel inferior?  We all have those moments when we give someone permission to make us feel small and invisible, but some spend their lifetimes allowing others  to make them feel inferior.

Many times during my life, especially my earlier years, I allowed others to cheapen my worth, to take away from my value of who I am and what I do.  I think with age, and honestly as my yoga practice deepened,  I grew bolder and much more protective of myself.

I have friends who struggle with this, I think it is the desire to be loved, to be wanted, to be liked......so we stand there and smile,  or walk away in tears, or swallow hard, while we allow others to shadow our value and self-worth.

Many of you who read this blog, know how much my music means to me, but it took me a long time to appreciate the uniqueness of my voice.  I have always loved to sing, it gives me incredible joy, but I also knew that my voice was different and did not always fit the mold of what some considered a beautiful voice.
When someone would compare my voice to someone who had a more traditional voice, there were times I allowed myself to doubt my voice, to doubt the value of it.......but somewhere, somehow, I learned the lesson and now I appreciate the uniqueness.  I know there are those who are much better, more polished, and have more range, but I can't imagine anyone of them loving to sing more than I do.

Just remember we can't control people, or situations, but we can control how we react......and no one can make us feel small or unimportant unless we let them.