Me At 25
This was me at 25! The picture was sent to me the other day by one of my best friends in business school. It was taken when I was at the Kellogg School of Management in my twenties. I have to admit that when I first looked at the picture, I thought to myself, Oh my gosh, I’m so much thinner in this photo! I looked so much better back then!
I think that’s a common response that so many of us have when we look at pictures of our younger selves.
I woke up the next morning and looked at the picture again.
I looked at my face in that picture and what I could see was a young and vibrant woman.
But she also lacked confidence and wisdom.
I thought back to that moment in my life. I remember that I was so uncertain about the future. I was in a relationship that I wasn’t sure of at the time and that eventually ended. I was so scared that I wasn’t going to get my chance in the world, that I wasn’t going to be able to step into my mission, that I was never going to get a job.
I was younger than everybody else in business school. And in so many ways I was happy, but also insecure and unsure of myself.
When I look in the mirror today, I see a much different person. Someone who is connected, alive and confident in who she is today.
It was a huge reminder to me that, as women, we tend to have such negative voices running in our heads. When we look at ourselves in the mirror, we look at our size. We look at the scars on our bodies. We look at the wrinkles on our faces.
We judge ourselves based on the image of the 20-year old in our heads or the images in glossy magazines, television shows, or from Facebook influencers.
The truth is that we need to be judging ourselves on so much more than just those physical changes.
Because our years of being on the planet have made us wise. They have made us strong. They have made us able to give really good advice and be totally there for ourselves, for our family and for our friends.
As entrepreneurs we’ve taken the harder choice every day. We do things that we don’t know how to do every day. We are forced to pick ourselves up and start again, even when we’ve had rejection, even when we have disappointment. Many of us are operating in an isolated place in the sense that we work alone – and yet, we keep going.
So I think one of the most important gifts that we can give ourselves as entrepreneurs is this – that when we look in the mirror, we see who we have become. Not who we were before. Not who we’re not, but who we are NOW.
We own the hard work that has made us smarter.
We own the decisions that we’ve made, especially the hard ones.
And we own the fact that we are choosing every day to step into our mission, even though it’s lonely, even though it requires learning new things every day, and even though we sometimes face rejection.
So the next time you look at yourself in the mirror today (or find yourself reminiscing about an old photo), remember these words: you are wise, you are strong, you are amazing.
Look at what you have become.
PS: I’m excited to announce that we are now at over 200 registrants for our Master Your Money Event – as you look at who you are becoming – if more money is on that wish list – please join us!
