Day 3: Courage to use my voice and ask for what I want (self-advocate)

 

Welcome to Day 3 of the Attitude Challenge. Are you ready to continue challenging your Attitude of Courage? Yesterday, we were challenged in our courage to interact with others. 

Your challenge for today: Courage to use my voice and ask for what I want (self-advocate).

  • What’s your attitude about asking for what you want?
  • When was the last time you had the courage to ask someone in a more influential role than you for what you wanted?
  • If you are like me, your preference is to get what you want without asking or putting in any effort?

Guess what, nobody knows what you want, how you feel, or how you think but YOU. 

When you self-advocate, you have an Attitude that causes you to speak up for yourself and the things that are important to you. Self-advocacy is when you use your voice, ask for what you need and desire, and make others aware of your thoughts and feelings. 

These are some reasons why I have struggled to advocate for myself in the past:

  • Fear of the word NO...rejection
  • Feeling vulnerable
  • Thinking it would be a burden on someone to help me
  • Feeling selfish for putting my needs first
  • The discomfort of feeling needy and dependent 
  • Lack of clarity on what I wanted
  • Trying to be superwoman, thinking I can do it on my own

Can you relate? Do any of these reasons or excuses sound familiar to you?

I must admit this is still one of my struggles in some areas of my life. However, if we desire to finish strong, we need to develop a self-advocate Attitude and gain the courage to ask for what we want.

View the Day 3: Fall Challenge Inspiration Video


What area of your life do you need to use your voice and ask for what you want?

 


Challenge Activity:

What will you do to build the courage to ask for what you want today? 
Perform one of the acts of courage below:

  1. I will share one thing that is important to me that I haven’t shared with someone. 
  2. I will ask someone to help me with something I can’t figure out on my own.
  3. I will request something again that I received a no, rejection, or denial for in the past. 
  4. I will use my voice to ask for something else (not on the above list).

Remember, this is a challenge. If using your voice to ask for what you want is easy for you, it doesn’t qualify as courageous, and you are not challenging yourself. So dig deep and challenge yourself today. 

Courage Memory Verse:

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” - 1 Corinthians 16:13

Day 2: Courage in my interactions with others