Are you a people pleaser? I am. I know many who are. People pleasing is something that helps me to feel safe and to be liked in the world. The challenge with people pleasing is when I do it at the expense of my own authentic needs and desires. We are often taught to make our needs and desires secondary to those of others, but this can be very debilitating. It can also lead to perfectionism, to us judging our own self-worth based solely on what others think about us. In tonight's Wednesday Evening Service, we will explore people pleasing and share a spiritual exercise that can help us understand better what it is we authentically desire--and what we don't desire! Join us at 7pm at the Center tonight as we work to unlock a little more authenticity in our daily lives. See you soon! -Russ
It can often feel like the world expects perfection from us. That anything less than perfect is unacceptable. Our media tells us day after day what "perfect" looks like, and implies that if we don't meet that standard, something must be wrong with us. We should try harder, do more work, pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. The challenge is that this is a standard that is often unattainable for the vast majority of us. And this sort of thinking can embed within us a subconscious belief that we are not enough as we are, that we are not worthy unless we can meet this unrealistic standard. In this week's Wednesday Evening Service, we will explore some of the ideas that author and shame researcher Brené Brown shares in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection , that can help us to unlock our inner perfection, and from that perfection gain a sense of self-worth and resilience so we might live a more wholehearted life. I look forward to seeing you this Wednesday at 7pm at th