Are You A Nibbler?

Have you started your holiday shopping?  Do you like to give presents to people?  Do you like to receive gifts from people?  Do you prefer tangible or intangible gifts?  Do you want a gift to last a short time or a long time?  Have you ever received a gift that would last a lifetime?  What would need to exist for you to receive a gift from yourself that would last a lifetime, and give a gift to others that would last a lifetime?

When I was born I was given the gift of Self-Esteem which could last a lifetime.  However, I did not know how to take care of it.  My gift was nibbled at daily by different people!  Having a leadership role can also nible away at you.  Some people said I was “dumb”.  Others said, “You can’t do that”.  Someone said, “Be careful, you ‘should’ be afraid, you can’t learn that”.  I heard many of those statements over and over again and gradually I believed them.  I was afraid to speak to people, afraid to raise my hand in class, and afraid to learn.  I felt other people were smarter than I.  I held back from fulfilling my potential because of all the nibbles.

For more than 40 years I asked the question, “How come people hurt so much and nibble at each other?”  It took all that time to discover that it was a Self-Esteem issue.  In 1976 I met L. S. Barksdale who knew how to stop others and himself from hurting and nibbling.

In January of 1985, I met Kaleel Jamison, an Organizational and Leadership Development Consultant.  She observed all the nibbles people were receiving.  Some nibbles include: “You ask too many questions;”  “You work too hard;”  “You’re too frank;” or, “You’re too helpful”.  A nibble asks you to make yourself less powerful.  Kaleel wanted people to release nibbles so she wrote a book called, The Nibble Theory.  There are only 74 pages in this book.  It is a book about leadership, self-empowerment, and personal development.  Kaleel talks about your kernel of power.  She notes, “That kernel, that central part of you, that self, is your source of joy and serenity.  It is also where you find balance,  respect, competence, stability, and power.”  I believe that kernel of power is your Self-Esteem.  The Nibble Theory is one of the most powerful books I have ever read.  Clothes wear out and food is consumed.  Yet a book can bring happiness for a lifetime.

Give yourself the lifetime gift of releasing nibbles and then, watch what happens!