Shame is one of those emotions that can do serious damage just about anywhere it pops up. It can keep us from taking risks, feeling confident, and moving forward with relationships and activities. As a home business owner, we need our strength and wits about us and if we let ourselves feel or be shamed in our work–it can be the ruin of an otherwise successful business…
I do not mean to sound melodramatic here, but I think when we let ourselves feel embarrassed, disgraced, inferior, or unworthy–we are taking away most of the wind from our sales. Without some confidence and faith in our own abilities and a genuine belief that we have a right to be here and something positive to offer, it is nearly impossible to stay motivated and focused on helping people and building a small business.
It is probably unreasonable to expect that we will never feel shame or feel ashamed of ourselves for something we have done or said, but the more we can keep the shame-based emotions to a minimum, the better off we will be. When you start to feel self-conscious, or start to feel the waves of self-doubt, counter it with some positive self-talk. If the initiations of shame are coming from somewhere else–a person close to us who is telling us that we’re no good, we’ll never make a go of it, etc. we have to do whatever we can to get away from that person (or people) and surround ourselves with positive, encouraging people instead. I find that when I start to feel badly, if I make a conscious effort to identify things I do well, or even little ways that I am doing a good job in my business, I can usually keep the shame-based stuff at bay.
Also: Watch Out for Shame