Stepping Up With Your Bold Voice by Kim Boudreau Smith ⋆ The Teen Mentor™

Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘fake it ‘till you make it’ from others? This phrase is total utter nonsense. Think about the amazing, miraculous, bold voice that has been given to you. Are going to say to yourself, and the world: “Hi, I am faking it until I make it.”?

Do you really want to be known as a fake, not just to the world, but also to yourself? Will you show up short, lie, and cheat until you make it? Well here are a few thoughts:

How will you know you are making it? Does someone tell you: “Hey you are making it!” Do you receive a badge of acknowledgment that you are making it? How will you know?

Well… The truth is…drumroll please…

You ARE making it right now, right now in this moment, today! Not tomorrow, not next year, but now!

Do you believe me? Can we get you to believe in yourself? I have some (easy) suggestions for you to implement. Are you ready to step up with your beautiful voice? Okay, here goes!

We are all born with this miraculous voice. When we are born, the first sound we make is a loud cry. This is our voice. From there we make cooing and ga-ga noises until we learn to form words. Pretty amazing isn’t it?

While we do this, our internal voice is forming as well. You know that voice, The Hag in the Attic. The voice that says, “You are going to fail!”, “Don’t walk over to others in groups, you are a freak, ugly, and no one likes you.”, “You are at fault for your parent’s divorce.”, “You are a big loser.”

You know that voice, that nasty, disgusting Hag in the Attic voice! We all have that voice (yes adults too), but it isn’t real. However, we need that Hag! That internal voice wants to help you, keep you safe in that place where you are now. That is why she says what she does. You have allowed her to.

Here are 3 Steps to help you step up with your bold, beautiful voice and control that inner critic…

Tell The Hag in the Attic that you are driving the bus and that she is a passenger. She can go manage your other emotions. Let her know you know what you are doing, and that she is needed to work with your other emotions, to keep them in line. She craves boundaries, a boss to lead and guide that voice. Unfortunately, we have given her the boss role, and she has run with it. This isn’t how it is to be. Let me tell you, just because you start doing this, it doesn’t mean she isn’t going to try to take things over again because she will. You need to build that strength to hear her and settle her down. This is a daily practice! No one perfects this! No one.
Do Affirmations. I am a positive affirmation person! They work! Here is what a positive affirmation is: “I am Beautiful.” “I am healthy.” “I am loved and accepted by me and by others.” It is a statement that begins with “I am.” No negatives here, only positives. Write them out on a post-it note, place them on a mirror, so you see them in the morning and before you go to bed. I know a teenager who did this and placed them on her ceiling above her bed so she saw them last thing at night before going to sleep and first thing in the morning when she woke up! Brilliant! Famous speakers like Wayne Dyer use these ‘I am’ statements before speaking on a stage, before writing their books and so on. These affirmations are powerful, and they work! Try it!
Sit and Breathe. Take several deep breaths before entering an ‘out of the normal’ situation. With those breaths say your personal ‘I am’ statements.

These are tools for your ‘tool belt of life.’ They are simple, powerful, and free! However, I have a warning for you. When you begin using these ‘I am’ statements, be forewarned. Your bold inner voice (the Hag), will start up with: “Ha, ha, ha, no you are not! Ha, ha, ha, you cannot do this!” We all have this voice. It is up to you to decide how you want to handle her. Try to remember, do not fight with her, for you will lose and do not kick her to the curb because she will come back with a bigger vengeance!

I let my Hag rule my life with fake success, lies, and so much more because I allowed her to drive my bus! NO MORE! We have several voices, the inner one, and the vocal one. This is truth and facts.

My question to you is: How are you going to use those voices?

Will you beat yourself up and then beat others up? Will you talk yourself down and imagine yourself as small and negative? We are not here for that. Not at all.

So step up with these tools. Be kind and gentle with yourself, nothing is perfect here! (Ugh who wants to be perfect, right? Not me.) Remove the “I am trying,” and be strong with the “I am!”

Reach out to me with your amazing ‘I am’ statements! I want to hear them and I want to support you! I love these amazing tools because they work! You rock and your bold voice is so important – and it needs to be heard!

Peace & love,
Kim

About the Author: Kim BOUDREAU SMITH is one of Your Monthly Mentors. Being an entrepreneur for the last 28 years, she known for being a 7-time international best-selling author/compiler. Based in Birmingham, Michigan, she is also the founder and former CEO of Bold Radio Station, an internet radio station that offers a VIP service for business owners to market their voice as the experts that they are. Kim had a very successful corporate career. Something was missing, however, so she launched a fitness business. Today, she not only runs that fitness business, she is also the CEO of Kim B. Smith Inc. Read More…