The Tribune


By Michelle Miller



Mario Cooper lived waiting. Waiting on his father’s acceptance; waiting on his mother’s approval. Waiting on his friends to understand him; waiting for his college professors to validate his ideas. Waiting on his employer to recognise his value, and finally, waiting on his wife to respect his efforts. 
Indeed, at 39 years old, Mario’s whole life was in a state of waiting. And despite all his waiting, nothing seemed to change and nothing was getting better.

This made him resentful, discouraged, and emotionally disconnected. 
Then one day, Mario caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror. Of all the years, he’d lived in his house and the hundreds of times he’d used this mirror, he felt like he was seeing himself for the first time. He soon realised that he was not looking at his reflection, as much as his reflection was looking at him. 
Those eyes piercing into him were so intense. He felt like a deer in headlights. He wondered, who was that person staring at him and how did such a gifted, talented individual reach such a low point in his life? These haunting questions hovering like a halo.
In this trance like state, Mario Cooper was looking at himself for the very first time. All of the years he spent waiting flashed before his eye. His entire life was bundled into this single moment.

He had no idea who he was, what he really wanted, or why he was waiting.
All he had done all of his life was to please those around him, to gain their acceptance and approval. Yet he was without his own approval.

As those eyes burned into him, Mario realised that he never stood up for himself. He never honoured his own confidence or sense of power.

He didn’t have the courage to stand in his own shoes.
Although he knew the eyes staring at him belonged to him, they seemed so unfamiliar; speaking without words: “Mario, where are your shoes? Why are you waiting?”
He frantically splashed cold water over his faced. Gaining his composure, Mario looked again at himself. But this time with a new set of eyes. In that moment, he made up his mind to stop waiting. He vowed to start living, to get inside his life, tap into his power and stand in his own shoes.
This single shift propelled Mario to live his life on his own terms; a life that he loved. He became a more confident, self-reliant individual.

More than anything else, he discovered that the opinion that mattered most was his own opinion of himself. By accessing the power to stand in his own shoes, Mario Cooper positively changed his life.
What about you, are spending your life waiting on others approval, respect and or acceptance? No doubt there’s a little bit of Mario in many of us.

And just as he did, you too must each get to the mirror and give yourself a chance to be yourself. Tune in to your reflection and heed its call to tap in to your own power.
Every moment you spend waiting is a moment that you lose in knowing your own true value. Get inside your life. Be willing to accept, support, respect, and approve yourself and the world will meet you in kind.
Leader to leader, make today the day that you courageously stand in your own shoes. By accessing your own power, you equip yourself with the confidence to live the life that you love.

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