I read an article in Chatelaine on women spending money.  And when I cut the article out and kept it I wrote on the top Worthiness.  The perspective I want to add to this article is that women often don't believe they deserve to spend money on themselves.  One of the women quoted in the article mentioned that "Women find it much easier to spend money on other people than on themselves".  No big surprise right?  We can always justify if for someone else.  But why not for ourselves?

This is where the idea of worthiness comes in.    The definition of worthiness from wordnetweb states:  The quality or state of having merit or value.  And one of the issues I came across many times as I was coaching women one-on-one about their weight is lack of  self-worth.  When I would introduce the idea of taking care of themselves in order to lose weight, it was quite foreign to them.  You might not even see the connection between your health and self-worth.  But I totally believe that we have to be content and happy within ourselves in order to even want to take care of our bodies.  Of course they feed off of each other - once you begin taking care of the inside and it feels good, then it's easier to take care of the body.  And as your body responds you feel good about yourself.

The most important part of worth (that quality or state of having merit or value) is when we add in the concept of self.  It isn't about how anyone else thinks of you, it is about how you feel about yourself.  Women tend to look to others for that definition.  They rely on the state of their relationships to define themselves.  I encourage women at Dragonflies and Daisies and in every workshop I do to find out what is really important to them.  And once you have added those special things to your lives watch how powerful the changes are.  Where to begin.... it isn't so much where but when and the answer is NOW!

Crank up your awareness by asking the simple question - what do I like to do?  Next - start adding it in to your life - maybe in small increments of time and money.  Is it music, is it photography or walking alone?  Do you want guitar lessons, a book on photography or new running shoes?  As you journal ask yourself the questions:

• What do I like to do? 
• What are my 3 favorite things?
• Do I have an Absolute YES list?  (email me and I can expand on this if you like, it's a great tool)

Take a step and watch the Universe meet you with excitement and joy!

Quotes
Nothing you know is worth anything if you don't know how to be proud of yourself.  Author Unknown

You have to start knowing yourself so well that you begin to know other people.  A piece of us is in every person we can ever meet.  Stephen King   Night Shift

Self esteem is the reputation we acquire with ourselves.  Nathaniel Branden