Who is your #1 advocate?
If the answer isn’t “I am” and 1) you’re not a cult leader 2) you’re not a celebrity heartthrob or 3) you don’t have a publicist, then the next question you have to ask yourself is “why”?
So why?
If you can think of someone else, who has his/her own life, is a better advocate for you than yourself, you’re probably either wrong or suffer from a sense of unworthiness. Advocating for yourself doesn’t mean bragging or acting conceited, it simply means that you believe in your own self-worth enough to speak up when it’s being challenged.
Whether it is asking for a food order to be re-ordered, addressing co-worker issues, or confronting someone who has been mistreating you, at the end of the day, your life is what’s being impacted due to inaction.
Depending on something external to save you ensures that once that person is gone, you’re left vulnerable and lacking any skills to deal with the situation yourself.
Here are 5 tips on how to start being your own best advocate:
- See Something…Say Something – Turning a blind eye to disrespect or inappropriate behavior ensures that it will happen again to you or someone else. Ignoring it will almost guarantee that you’ll have to face it again, and that the anger will bottle up inside of you in an unhealthy way.
- Don’t Back Down – Conviction is key. If you don’t believe in yourself, why should anyone else? When you have a cause that is important to you, don’t view rejection as the end, but a roadblock that requires you to take a detour. If you think of life as a maze, then you’ll start to realize that there’s always a path to the end goal.
- Professionalism leads to being heard – When we say things, sometimes it isn’t what we are saying that is at issue but how we say it. Your tone and delivery is critical for ensuring what you say is properly heard so it can be addressed the right way.
- You are Not Alone – So many times we feel very alone when dealing with discomfort or distress. However, there are many others who usually relate to the circumstances you are currently facing. Surrounding yourself with a supportive network that can give you the strength you need to take on challenges in life. Remember, they’re there to help you overcome your challenges rather than overcome them for you.
- Social Media is Your Friend – When things go down in the world, we are only a click away on Facebook or Instagram from seeing what is happening. I am not a fan of ranting on social media. But sharing an issue or your perspective on how to solve a personal or societal issue can be healing and help lead to progress.
Life is full of the unexpected and there are many things we don’t have control over. But the one thing we do have control over is ourselves if we learn the skills to do so.
You can make 2017 the year where you say yes to feeling amazing each and every day!
~ Natasha
Love this, thanks for sharing. Everyone needs to be their own advocate.
Thanks 🙂 Yes, if we don’t stand up for ourselves who will?
This article sends a good message to those who need to learn to be their own advocate. It teaches one to speak up on their own. It is a skill that everyone needs. As there are times when no one will do it for us til we do it ourselves.
Thanks Sandy KS. We have to remember to teach others how we want to be treated.
this article makes me think of the Rocky movies. especially with the first image of a tiger, because you know eye of the tiger song and all.
Very true! Thanks for the support 😉
Awesome tips! You are so right – we have to learn to be our own advocates!
Thanks Alysse! Yes, we are all worthy of ensuring that we get what we want in life.
Those are some great tips! Thanks for sharing with me
Happy you found the tips to be helpful 🙂
This is GREAT advice! My favorite is #4! “Surrounding yourself with a supportive network that can give you the strength you need to take on challenges in life.” Thank you for this!
You are most welcome Stefani. Yes, a supportive network is key!!!
It’s so funny you write this now. While I definitely agree that it was necessary to be your own advocate, my husband and I were just talking about being advocates for each other in terms of dealing with our parents. Some time ago, I felt like his mother was being disrespectful but continuously telling us how we should raise our child. Because it’s his mother, I felt he should’ve been my advocate at that moment even though she was talking to me about it.
Regardless, good post with great advice.
I am glad you found this to be helpful Terri. Life is too short not to stand up for yourself and what you want 🙂