I am Important!

I am important!

Can you say that out loud without embarrassment, flinching or a nervous giggle?

I was sharing the other day before a group of people how difficult it has been in my life to own that simple statement and not only know it intellectually, but embody it. The knowing of something and the embodiment are two very different ways of ownership.

As often is the case, the following week several of my clients were challenged by this statement as well, so it’s obviously something that is “in the air” right now and needs to be addressed more openly.

I am important is pivotal to experiencing yourself as the center of your own life experience. If you want to or not, if you are conscious of it or not, you radiate an energetic pattern out into the world. This signal contains all aspects of yourself: your opinions, thoughts, your emotional patterns and your actions and does influence the people and events around you.

Can you see and feel yourself in that place of being important?

Sometimes you may in some aspects of your life and not so much in others. You may feel important in raising your children and then notice that in your primary relationship or within the extended family you are not seen and heard the way you really want.

You may be doing well in your work, but there is one growth area where you stay stuck: perhaps creating new projects, writing, speaking or moving into a leadership position.

Claiming I am important can create a subtle shift inside you and allow you to consciously add that aspect into your life repertoire.

So, your first action step is to go to a mirror and declare to your mirror self that you are important. Notice, if you can say it and where in your body it arises. If self-consciousness arises, you’ll know it is from your head. Full ownership of this quality means that it is embodied: all of your cells know it, and you speak it from that deep place of knowing.

Another aspect of understanding I am important means that you are clear about the gifts this quality offers. Imagine how life would be for others if you are not around. What small, medium and large contributions do you offer in terms of love, presence, support and time?

We all need to be important. It’s part of our survival. It offers us the recognition and appreciation of our unique presence in the world and thereby an opportunity to return our offerings, small or big, back into the world.

Of course we all know how many people are out there who are desperately wanting attention, desperately wanting acknowledgment, desperately want to be important, but going about it in an uncontained way, spilling it over the news and media which may trigger us observers in many different ways.

The opposite extreme becomes noticeable when people do not feel important at all. They shrink and disappear into themselves, becoming invisible to others. Often this state of being creates depression and ‘poor me’ syndrome. It perpetuates blame, judgment and can become a backhanded way of seeking attention.

So we are looking for the middle road, a healthy way of claiming I am important. There are clear boundaries and a sense of containment. No spilling, no shrinking. Others get it. You get it.

Owning I am important is not selfish, but a personal empowerment. It acknowledges that you have an impact in the world, conscious or not and that you can take charge of that impact in a positive way.

How are you claiming I am important?

Let us know below in your comments what you discovered.

If you find some challenges in creating this change in perspective for yourself, let’s have a conversation and explore how I can support you in making this happen.