Self Image

Did you know that your self image is really one of the most important factors that determines whether you are successful in life?

Success rises and falls on leadership, leadership rises and falls on influence, influence rises and falls on relationships, relationships rise and fall on attitude, and attitude rises and falls - in large part - on how you see yourself.

If you don't view yourself in a positive light, you won't have a good attitude. With a bad attitude you'll find it nearly impossible to connect with other people and develop relationships. People are only influenced by the people they have relationships with; if you don't have any solid relationships because you have a bad attitude (caused by your poor self image), you will have no influence. Without influence, there is no chance for leadership because people will only follow the people who influence them. Everything worth doing requires a team of people to get it done, and you cannot reach personal success unless you are a leader.

See? Your self image plays a much bigger role in your overall success in life than many people would even imagine!

I want you to understand me. When I talk about having a positive self image, I don't mean being full of bravado. Lying to yourself about how you feel about yourself won't change the fact that your negative self image will cause you to have a crummy attitude. Nor am I talking about being blind to your faults - this is also a bad attitude. You can't go through life thinking you're perfect and expect to be able to have solid connections with the imperfect humans of the world we live in. What I'm talking about is simply this: When you look in the mirror, do you like the person you see there? If you were to use a mirror to stare into your own eyes, would you like the soul staring back at you? Do you think you're a good person? A person who is worth someone else's time or effort? A person who is capable of greatness? A person who is worthy of whatever success they can earn?

That's what self image truly is. It's a funny thing because it's the composite of all of our attitudes about ourselves, and it also greatly affects our attitudes about the world and the people around us. It provides the parameters of how we're going to act toward people and how well they will like us.

You can never, and I do mean never, rise past the level at which your self image says you belong.

Since self image plays such a vital role to our success, it's pretty important that we make sure to keep our own self images positive! How? Well, we've been talking about that for two weeks. Every subject I've written about so far, once mastered, will contribute to your self image. Find inspiration to motivate you toward your goal, find supporters who like you and believe in your ability to reach your goal, find a coach who can guide you on the right path to your goal, have the right attitude about every situation, know when it's time to rest so you don't spread yourself too thin, forgive anyone you're holding a grudge against, have faith in a power greater than yourself, set yourself up to experience and celebrate victory, have the discipline to stay on track, and have the courage to face your fears! All of these things will leave you with a great self image!

Think positively about yourself today, and take note of how it affects your interactions with other people. I think you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised by the improvement!