I don't need to give myself away to be worthy of love or abundance

When I first signed up for the 7 Sacred States challenge, I honestly didn’t expect anything big to happen. I thought it would be a few nice insights, maybe some reminders I already knew. What I didn’t realize was how much of my life I had been living in effort. Over these seven days, I started noticing just how tightly I was holding everything — outcomes, responsibility, money, relationships, even myself. I’ve always been someone who “keeps going,” who carries things, who figures it out. I didn’t know how braced my system was until it finally started to soften. The state that impacted me the most was Non-Attachment, followed closely by Receiving. During the Non-Attachment session, something very real happened. I received a message from a client, and my first instinct was panic. My mind immediately jumped into the future — what if the contract ends, what if income drops, what if I need to fix this right now? Normally, I would have reacted straight away. Instead, I paused. I told myself, “If it does or it doesn’t, so be it.” I stayed with the session, finished it calmly, and only then called back. It turned out there was no problem at all — just another assignment. That moment showed me how much unnecessary stress I had been creating by living in imagined futures. Receiving, though, was the deeper breakthrough. I realized that I had learned to feel safe by giving — giving time, energy, effort, care — but I didn’t feel equally safe receiving. Somewhere along the way, I had linked worth to effort and ease to danger. I could give endlessly, but allowing felt uncomfortable. This challenge helped me see that I don’t need to over-function, exhaust myself, or play small to deserve good things. I don’t need to earn rest, love, or abundance by burning myself out. What changed wasn’t just my mindset — it was my body. I felt calmer. Less rushed. Less reactive. I stopped interfering so much with life and started trusting that things can unfold without me gripping every detail. One of the biggest realizations I had was this: I don’t need to give myself away to be worthy of love, belonging, or abundance. This challenge didn’t turn me into someone new. It helped me come home to myself.