Cheryl Richardson: To Heal The World We Must Heal Ourselves.

There is this notion that in order to get ahead in life, to be successful and to receive our just rewards, we must sacrifice ourselves somehow. Working all hours at the office to prove our worth. Constantly giving, giving, giving. In time, money, energy, emotion and attention, to show that we care, that we’re worthy, loyal, or that we’re moral or somehow superior.

But sacrificing ourselves like this ultimately has the opposite effect. It wears us down, burns us out, lowers our frequency, harms our energy. Not only do we become tired and unable to properly fulfil the roles and obligations that we believe we must give part of ourselves to, but we can become resentful that life isn’t easier, that we are receiving nothing in return, that we are being drained.

Slowly but surely, bit by bit, life is no longer working for us, but happening to us, and our power becomes diminished. The sacrifices we have made for the job, the role, the obligations, have made us less able to carry out those tasks. And that hurts us.

But when we put ourselves first – when we care for ourselves, mentally, physically and spiritually – we don’t need to sacrifice in order to operate at a high level for ourselves and for others. By protecting our energy, we can give so much more than we could when our giving was about sacrifice. We remain stable, rested, energised, and ready.

In times like those we face today – with much of the world in lockdown, with unrest due to broken leadership, and with dissatisfaction driven by materialism and capitalism, we must nurture ourselves and protect our energy more than ever.

I spoke to Cheryl Richardson about how radical self-care can make us more compassionate, help us realise our potential and build lives we love. Cheryl was one of the first life coaches, has written many books and became a regular on the Oprah Winfrey show, helping television audiences around the globe understand that in order to heal the world, we must first heal ourselves.

It was great speaking with Cheryl, and I started the interview with a quote from one of my other podcast guests, Leanne Pero:

“The best thing you can bring to any relationship, is a healthy, happy you.”

If you want to find out more about Cheryl, her books and her work, visit her website at www.cherylricharson.com, or find her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/coachoncall and Twitter at www.twitter.com/coachoncall.