I’m shining the spotlight on my friend and fellow entrepreneur, Nadjejda Chapoteau. I asked her if she could share her personal journey as an entrepreneur and her experiences in today’s article. She agreed and wrote the content below. Nadjejda’s one amazing woman and is a featured expert in the Love Yourself First Series: 5 Incredible Days to Love Your Mind, Love Your Body, and Love Your Life! Thank you, Nadjejda!
For many years I was living my life on auto-pilot, didn’t know who I really was, didn’t love myself much, and self-love was definitely not part of my vocabulary. During this time I did what I was taught and told to do, wanted to please my family, friends, and society and did what was expected of me. I didn’t really take the time to get to know what I wanted for myself and my life.
I always had strong views and thoughts, yet I didn’t share them much especially in my business the first few years of my entrepreneurial journey. It was painful and my lack of self-love definitely impacted every area of my life, I didn’t feel fulfilled.
After years of finding myself in the same positions in my career feeling unfulfilled, not earning the salary I was worth, not being promoted, relationships not working out, and my health being impacted; I knew something had to change. I then began the journey of deepening my spiritual practice and made the conscious choice to love myself more.
Through my self-love journey, I learned it was important for me to reconnect with myself, know what I stand for, what matters to me, and what brings me joy in life. I learned that just like loving others; I cannot love myself if I don’t know who I am. It’s not an easy journey especially when you live in a society that is constantly telling you to be yourself but then criticizes you for being who you are. I had to shut down the voices of the world and really hear my own.
Here are the steps I took to reconnect with myself in my self-love journey:
- I reconnected with the girl inside me and recalled what she enjoyed most as a little girl. This allowed me to get know who I am and fell in love with myself. Knowing what lights me up and brings out my authentic, passionate and joyful self was huge and is important for me to do regularly.
- I made meditation a daily practice in my life. Sitting still in meditation really allowed me to experience peace and hear my inner voice.
- Sitting and feeling all my emotions both negative and positive was important and necessary.
- I spent lots of time in my happy place which at the time was out in nature at a park and now the beach. Being in these places allows me to experience pure joy and bliss.
- I reflected and wrote down in my journal on what matters to me and who I want to be. Deep down I knew who I really was, I just didn’t have the courage to allow her to show up and be seen.
- I made alone time a priority. Although I never had a problem being alone, I did so consciously and really enjoy my own company.
- I took time to ponder and find out what people used to and say about me regarding what they appreciate about me, my qualities and really started owning them.
Lessons Learned
I’ve learned that knowing who I really am and sharing my authentic self and what I stand for boldly for me is the greatest act of self-love. I love who I am and what I stand for, and yes there are days when I still doubt my self-worth and question certain things about myself and ask if I truly love myself. On those days when I experience the lows, I take time to sit quietly through meditation to feel my feelings and let them pass through or turn on music and dance which is my biggest passion in life. These activities help me get back to who I am. Learning to know what lights me up and making sure I do it on a regular basis is important to me and required in my self-love journey. It’s a journey and not a destination.
It’s important to know who you are and what you stand for to truly love and care for yourself. You must be comfortable with who you are and fall in love with your entire self which means embracing your light and darkness. You’ll get there by taking time to reconnect with yourself and going through your own journey.
If you’re looking to reconnect with yourself in order for you to get know and love the real you and share it boldly with the world, check out my free gift which will help you with this.
About Nadjejda:
Nadjejda Chapoteau is a Certified Empowerment and Confidence Coach, Spiritual Teacher and Motivational Speaker who is passionate about dance, social justice, spiritual growth, and making a difference. She helps purpose-driven women coaches find their message, niche, and book their dream clients by reconnecting with and embracing their authentic selves, and sharing who they are boldly while doing work that lights them up and helps them have a positive impact on the world. She's Haitian American and currently lives in Miami, Florida. Through coaching, Nadjejda finally found the work that is aligned with her authentic self, fulfills her, gets her paid for being herself, and make a difference in the world which is something that truly matters to her.