Women's Life Link Be Well, Be Happy, Be YOU!
On my journey with words and language, I have recently stumbled upon another concept – that of Representation. I have been hearing friends use the phrase “I must stand up for myself”, have even used it myself occasionally. I have noticed in recent days that it rang off for me, something was amiss. Then it occurred to me, when we use that phrase, it speaks of victimhood on some level – somewhere in our lives we have given away the ability to speak on our own behalf.
With the concept of Representation, we regain both control and authority over our individual natures, selves, and lives. When we feel that we must stand up for ourselves, there is implied loss on some level – when we engage the concept of Representation, we automatically generate empowerment. With Representation also comes the idea of personal responsibility and accountability.
If I am in Representation for my self, then I am acting, feeling, thinking, being – against no one – I am only standing for self. If I am standing for my self, I am in the here and now, present and representing. If I stand for my self, there is no reason to stand up for myself. A slight difference in wording, using “for” in place of “up” creates a world of difference in meaning and context.
To represent oneself is to accept ownership of self, beliefs, values and issues. It is to act with and in empowerment versus keeping silent in an effort to conciliate against one’s own statements of being. When we stand For or Represent, we eliminate the idea of standing or being “against” something or someone. It is a place of honesty, authenticity, and integrity.
So, the next time you find yourself feeling, thinking or hear someone else use the phrase “I must stand up for myself” – stop and ask, “Where am I not showing up for myself in my life?”. Then consider the idea of representing yourself and allow that understanding to flow into all aspects of your life – don’t reserve it for situations in which you feel dis-empowered, use it to empower yourself and wear it as a second skin. This will place you into a position of responding to life rather than reacting to it.
Wow, I just wrote an article on words myself Tricia (I hadn’t read yours yet!) so we are on similar wave lengths!
I love the way you mention “Where am I not showing up for myself in my life?” because it is for ourselves isn’t it. It is more about representing ourselves more than being just what others want us to be, we really are in control of being the best version of ourselves that we can be!
Sandy
x
Thanks for the recognition – since I was little, I have just so loved words – how and why they sound and mean what they do and how they feel inside – I have actually been keeping a ‘journal of words’ for 25 + years – when I would find words, phrases or ideas that resonated, I would just copy them down for the future. As we talked about, I would later find some of those same pieces to be my own words.
You are so gifted at finding the root intentions of words. I’m sure most people would never even think of these things. Thanks for sharing your beautiful gifts with us!