Let Go of the Guilt: How to Stop Beating Yourself up and Take Back Your Joy

Artwork for podcast Successful Women Think Differently

Episode 8 • 21st June 2023 • Successful Women Think Differently • Valorie Burton

Do you beat yourself up when you don’t do things perfectly? Do you struggle with that nagging feeling that you've never quite done enough? Perhaps, for example, you have felt guilty about motherhood when you're achieving success in your career.

If so, you are not alone. The same character trait that drives you to succeed as a successful woman may also be weighing you down with a feeling of guilt that you should be doing more.

So how do we learn to let go of these feelings of guilt so that we can live a life that is unencumbered by the unnecessary weight of expectation we place on ourselves (or others place on us)?

Valorie Burton teaches us how to do just that and take back our joy in today's inspiring episode of Successful Women Think Differently.

First, we start with an understanding of why women are more prone to guilt and an examination of what guilt looks like in our everyday lives. From saying yes when we mean to say no, to letting others cross our boundaries, there are myriad ways we allow ourselves to feel guilty (without even knowing it) – and then make poor decisions.

Recognizing that guilt is just a message and so an opportunity for change is a positive approach to take. Learning the difference between authentic and false guilt is the start of our journey to take back our joy. So don't go on that guilt trip if you don't need to – it will only leave you in debt! Please join us.

"Most of the guilt that we're feeling, it's not authentic. It's not that we have caused harm or that we have done something wrong. It's that we are telling ourselves that we've caused harm or we've done something wrong." ~ Valorie Burton

In This Episode:

- Are women more prone to guilt?

- What does guilt look like?

- How guilt can lead us to make bad decisions

- The difference between authentic and false guilt

- Understanding how we perceive guilt as a debt

- Why vague or outdated expectations can lead to feeling that we haven't done enough

- Why guilt can lead to enabling behavior

- How have you been beating yourself up?

- What expectations are serving you well?

And so much more!

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