Welcome to Seven Minutes Sunday on the Switch, have a quick podcast. I'm your host, Ayanna Angel, and we are going to spend the next seven minutes together, getting you filled up with inspiration and goodness to get your mind primed to achieve greatness as you insert the week ahead. Today, Seven Minutes Sunday is probably going to sound a little bit different because I'm not in my normal studio. I am actually laying out by the swimming pool, listening to the book, The Federal Art of Not Giving a Buck by Mark Manson.
And in listening to this book right now, he's on a section talking about holding on to our beliefs and how holding on to those beliefs can sometimes hold us back. And when we think we know it all, that can sometimes hinder you from really knowing and understanding what you may need to know to go the furthest that you can go in life. And it just made me think of the question, some of the things I keep saying made me think of the question, could your values be holding you back? Now, usually when I talk to people about their values and what they can value in life, a lot of people have a hard time really identifying what they value or what holds a lot of weight and what they put a lot of stock into in their lives until we sort of get talking and get in the process and get in the exercise.
And they start coming up with things that's like, oh, I value honesty, I value, Jerry, I value being with a person, I value my friendships and loyalty, I value, and it can start rallying off and there's some things that they value, right? But a lot of what we value probably comes down to our self-protection as well, that factors in. So sometimes you may say things and you may list things that you value that if you look back over the track record of your years on this earth and living in existence, you may find some discrepancies. So you say that you value loyalty, but has there never been a time where you've been deployed to someone?
It probably has been. We're all human, we're all flawed characters playing a role in this big stage play of life. So, you know, of course there's times where you've probably been this loyal, dishonest, not the most trustworthy, maybe someone has questioned you and how you show up in the space that they interact with you in, whether you've known that they've questioned it or not. But see, that's not your intention and you may feel completely mortified if you wouldn't know that that's how someone thought of you or felt about you or the impression that you gave them or the vibe that you gave them because that wasn't your intention, that's not something that you value is showing up as that type of person.
But that can be reality sometimes. So then I ask the question, can the values that we hold or that we place upon ourselves, whether true or untrue, can they hold us back? Because sometimes, and the reason that I say that is because sometimes you may think that you need to not be in a situation or not put yourself in a certain situation or to put yourself in a certain situation because of how you want to show up in this world to other people. What your values are that you impose on yourself and what you want people to think about you or not think about you.
For a simple example, let's say you have a friend that's organizing a day, a Saturday, where all the girls get together and go do a community service project. Now, you value yourself to be a person that gives back, giving back is something important to you, something that you value. You really feel like doing for others is a great thing and something that is higher in your list of priorities. Yet, this particular Saturday, you don't feel like it.
You had something else that you wanted to do, some other thing that you wanted to get accomplished, maybe it was work on your business, your side project, maybe it was run some errands and just get your life in order for the following week, whatever it is that you had on your agenda that did not include this day of service. Now, you're conflicted because you're feeling like, if I'll show up, then I'm not being this person that adheres to my values of being a person that gives back everyone else who's participating. So if I don't participate, then what kind of person does that make me? Who am I?
Is this really in line with who I say that I am and will people now believe who I say that I am because I have some lame excuse to them, you know, for not showing up to do this work with them, to participate in this day of service? Well, like I said earlier, you're human. You're entitled to spend your time exactly the way that you will spend your time. And if we allow our values to dictate our every move, it can be a lot of pressure on us.
It can be a lot of pressure because you feel like you always have to show up as this person that maintains these specific values. And also, unfortunately, sometimes, adhering to certain values probably can hold us back. It's gonna let that sit there for a second. And this is the thing.
I'm just throwing this out there as something to think about. There's no right or wrong in any of this. These are all things to think about, things to consider. And the reason that we're considering them is because we want to be well-rounded individuals that have a good grasp on how we show up in this world, being a person that operates in a way that you're trying to get the best out of yourself and give the best to other people when you show up.
So that's why you consider these types of questions, these types of things. That's why you think about this. That's why you assess yourself. All of this is a part of personal development.
We are trying to develop ourselves into the best women that we can be. So I just wanted to leave that there with you. Give you something to think about, especially as you go into your week and you're making decisions about what to do, where to go, who to be, how to show up, who to interact with, what to say, what not to say, what opportunities to take, what opportunities to pass up, all these things. I just encourage you not to do things that you don't want to do because you're trying to adhere to a certain set of standards that you feel like you set up for yourself.
You can change. It's okay to change. It's okay for your standards to change. It's okay for your values to change.
It's okay for your outlooks to change. That's evolution, that's growth. You should be changing. Change is good.
Until next time, I am a young angel. I hope that you have enjoyed this seven minute Sunday. I hope that you have an amazing week ahead and be sure to stop by switchpivot.com to check out the goodies there that are available if you have not already done so. And as always, keep killing it.