"Reflection is the lamp of the heart. If it departs, the heart will have no light." —Imam Al-Haddad
What you DO is a reflection of you, but it’s not YOU.
Please reread that statement again.
It’s true that people interact with you based on what you do. They want to spend time with you DO-ing.
But that can be true without you BE-ing your actions.
When you are your DO-ings…every failure, every negative comment, every uncompleted task…feels like a reflection of your worth and value as a human.
Especially when others DO things effortlessly and perfectly, right?
Awareness alert: That’s one of those dangerous and toxic comparison statements that leads to limiting beliefs—and a topic for another day.
But I get it.
Even if you’re a checklist champion, your to-DO list feels like your unique contribution to this world.
It can feel like a personal attack or failure when you receive negative feedback, a project doesn’t go as planned, or you’re not as far along in life by now as you thought you’d be.
And this is especially painful when you purposefully include your creative spirit.
From the simple, private expressions of your thoughts to a loved one through a meal, a poem, or a planned adventure…to the public risks of making a speech, sharing your first novel, or applying for your dream job…when someone is critical…it cuts to the core of your soul.
But here’s the thing: your DOING can still be important to you without it BEING you.
It’s not a reflection of your worth.
When you don’t equate yourself with your DOING, you can experience challenges and failures without it meaning you suck as a human.
You can have a bad day and still meet your friend for dinner AND have a great time because you are worthy just as you already are—separate from your missteps.
I’ve experienced this struggle firsthand.
For many years, my self-worth was directly linked to how much I could accomplish in a day both at my job and as a mother, wife, daughter, friend.
A bad day at work meant I was failing not just professionally, but personally too.
My thoughts were not only harmful, but unsustainable.
It took time and purposeful reflection to understand that how many tasks I completed each day did not define my True Self.
It took time to understand that I am inherently valuable.
It took time to FEEL my BEING, and then live as if my worth is not based on what I produce or create.
My worth is who I am at my core…perfectly imperfect.
And that’s true for YOU, too.
This is not about putting on a mask (we DO too much of that already).
It’s about showing up, BEING present as your perfectly imperfect self, and creating a space where your creative spirit can grow and flourish…regardless of the ups and downs in your personal and professional life.
How do we do this?
We start with ONE thing on our to-do list for today: Take five minutes to reflect on how it feels to BE YOU.
Strong enough for all the struggles and worthy of all the good life offers.
Perfectly imperfect.
DO it now…
And then go out and BE your BeYOUtiful self!
