Inspiration – Making Peace With Who You Are.

Inspiration – Making Peace With Who You Are.

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd

Today’s message comes from Doris Mortman who says “Until you make peace with who you are ... you'll never be content with what you have.”

How many times have we looked at extremely wealthy people who are obviously driven and who seem to be frenetic about making more and more money and we think to ourselves “When is enough, enough?”  I know I have.  Yet they don’t seem to know "when enough is enough" and they continue to strive to make yet more money.  People like Bill Gates and perhaps Donald Trump come to mind.  I am sure that if either of them lives to be 100, they could not spend all that they have accumulated and yet they both seem driven to add to their already huge piles of money.

And it’s not only about the money, what about the beautiful supermodels that we see prancing about on the runway and we think to ourselves (well I do anyway) “they look perfect!”  Yet they are constantly going on new diets and primping and preening in an effort to look yet more gorgeous!

Let’s pick on the actors and actresses as well – there are many of them that are famous, they roll around in the money, the accolades, the famousness (if there is such a word) and yet they strive, cajole, steal from under the nose of others, a part that they “just have to have”!  Why – what drives them on and on?

And it’s not always about the money, there are people who live in extreme poverty, and in the midst of that, they strive to give yet more of themselves to others.  Mother Theresa comes to mind here – what is it about these people that there never seems to be an end to what they desire, what – for them seems to be a never-ending quest to achieve, whatever it is that they have sent their minds and their hearts to?

I suspect that I am about to put the cat amongst the pigeons here, but I think that for some it is because they have made peace with who they are and others haven’t yet.

For some, making peace with who they are and accepting who they are in the face of all adversity means being able to achieve more and more.  But that is in terms of achievement, money is a secondary thing.  They are driven by their need to perform, or their need to achieve, or their need to inspire.  They are caught up in the passion of what they do and who they are.

For others, it is about making the money.  They, on some level question who they are, what they are about, and what they can do.  Despite being famous and rich they are insecure about who they are as individuals and so they desperately strive to be the best.  They are never happy in their own skins or in their own minds and are driven to prove how good, fantastic, clever (insert whatever you wish here) they are – not to the world in general, but to themselves.

Which category do you fit into?  Have you accepted who you are or are you still trying to prove to yourself, to yourself, and everyone else?

Who are you?

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za