Hi , He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still. ― Lao Tzu
Years ago, I got an angry letter from an anonymous woman, who wrote, “Who do you think you are? How dare you call yourself a master. You’re not a master of anything!”
My initial reaction was to respond back, and then I quickly realized there was nothing to defend. I know I’m a master of my domain, meaning myself, and that I also have mastery in the domain of what I teach. My work and performance speak for themselves, so there is nothing to defend.
So what is
self-mastery?
As a human being, one has reached self-mastery when you have gained a certain level of control over your lower self. It doesn’t mean you’ve reached a state of perfection (that’s not possible). It means you have gained a high level of self-knowledge and awareness and you’ve achieved a high level of control over your thoughts, impulses, feelings, and
actions.
Because you’re human, you may still sometimes let anger or other emotions get the best of you, and you will still feel pain at times, but overall, your life is now governed by your highest values and your higher self. It is only through self-mastery that you can fully develop your gifts and talents and realize your full potential in
life.
Self-mastery in the area of food and weight means you’re no longer controlled by your appetite and impulses. You honor your body’s natural rhythms and cycles and live accordingly. You eat when hungry and stop when satiated. You deeply enjoy food and all the sensual delights that life offers, but you aren’t controlled by
them.
You know what you need to be happy, content, and nurtured and therefore don’t use food to meet your other needs. You know how to take good care of your whole self (mind, body, and spirit) and do this on a consistent basis.
Mastery in the area of food and weight
doesn’t necessarily mean you’re thin, in fact, you could still be overweight, not everyone is meant to be thin, but you’re no longer dominated by or obsessed with thoughts of food and/or dieting.
Art by Catherine L. Taylor |
Women often have a hard time with the word mastery. For one, the word master connotes power over others, but true mastery is about mastery of self or a subject.
To be a master of a particular
subject means you have gained a certain level of proficiency. Research shows that it takes about 10 years of constant practice or study to be a master of anything but mastery is not a final state.
Mastery of a subject doesn’t mean you know all there is to know about that subject. Anyone who has mastered something knows that mastery is a lifelong pursuit, because life is always changing and evolving, which means
there is always more to learn. One has to keep practicing and learning to maintain a level of mastery. By the way, I wake up at 3 am every morning and do research in my field until 6 am. I’ve been doing this for over a decade.
As a coach, I have found that many people are frightened by the concept of self-mastery.
Why?
Mastery of self, means fully stepping into your own power and light and this scares people. As Marianne Williamson once wrote, “It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”
Self-mastery means taking full responsibility for yourself and defining yourself and your life on your own terms. Unless you do this,
your life is truly not your own. It’s simply a regurgitation of other people’s thoughts and values (family and society’s).
Many people would rather play it safe by living by a script. This script is handing to them as they grow up with messages such as: get married; have children; buy a house; don’t rock the boat; get a certain type of job; be thin, etc.
A lot of people don’t question any of it; they just plod along, doing what’s expected of them, without ever questioning if this is what they really want or if it’s actually in their best interest.
Art by Catherine L. Taylor |
In my practice, I see a lot of people, old and young, who really don’t know who they are and what they truly value or
if they do, many haven’t developed the courage to live by those values. Because of this, they float along, rudderless, and/or follow the herd.
Unfortunately, the cost of this is depression, anxiety, overeating, and a sense of emptiness.
Deep down they know they aren’t
living the life they dreamed for themselves. They’ve settled for far less. They often tell themselves they should be happy and grateful for what they’ve got but it doesn't help much.
Living a life that’s not true to yourself and what you value isn’t much of a life. Deep down, you know you’ve betrayed yourself, and this creates
self-loathing.
I know how depressing this is because I used to be one of these people. I used to hide my intelligence and my talents because I noticed that other people were often threatened by them. Then I decided that I could no longer emotionally or spiritually afford to play small any longer. Now, if I make some people uncomfortable, I know that’s their problem. I won’t dim my
light or hide my talents just to make insecure people feel better about themselves.
So think about it. Have you defined and declared who you are to the world? Or are you still hiding and following somebody else’s script?
Does that script say I must be thin or
perfect to be acceptable?
If you could write your own script, what would that script look like?
What’s stopping you from writing and living it?
When you
decide to write, direct, and act in the movie called Your Life, you go from being a bit player to being a star performer.
Now, isn’t that the life you’ve always dreamed of?
Are you ready for a starring role in your own
life? Learn the art of self-care and mindful eating, and create a life that nurtures you.
Successful Weight Loss is 75% Mental!
There is
still time to sign up for this series. Sure, you missed the first call, but you can still get the recording, listen to it, and be on the next call which doesn't start until June 30th.
You
don't even have to show for the calls.
You can just listen to the recordings!
This course will never be offered at this price
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In this new coaching call series, I am going to show you the common mental traps, attitudes, and beliefs that keep people from being successful at weight loss or any other life goal for that matter. As a coach, these are the ones I come up against over and over
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This 3 month, twice monthly series will run start at 5:30 PST/8:30 EST and run until 6:00 pm PST/9:00 EST. It will start on Thursday, June 16th and run until August
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If you can’t make the call, no problem! The call recording will be sent out the next day.
Some of the mindset topics we will cover are perfectionism, attitude, passivity, impatience,
fear and anxiety, self-sabotage, black and white thinking, quitting, low self-esteem, entitlement, self-judgment and criticism, emotional immaturity, lack of motivation, avoidance, perseverance, deprivation vs. abundant thinking, living in the future vs. mindfulness, excuses, focus , lack of life purpose, commitment, and more.
The cost will be
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