I have a confession: I do not like to promote myself. Although I realize how important it is to promote myself for my business, I am having trouble doing it.

If I'm being candid, it probably has everything to do with my upbringing. Trying to escape the omniscient gaze of an Army Sergeant father and a self-proclaimed, humble flower child of a mother. Frankly, it's not entirely their fault. I have triumphed over my childhood and many other obstacles. I was also shy until my mid-teen years and later experienced bouts of meekness. Choosing to promote myself on paper finally became important when I found myself seeking recognition from a self-centered, much younger boss.

The current social media climate of self-promotion is all about imagery. My biggest issue with this practice is that I am self-critical of most images of myself. Even worse are the videos. It takes several glances for me to accept that I am seeing myself.

Me: "I don't like promoting myself."

Others: "You're going to have to get over that to run your business."

Therapists have suggested that I do things to increase my self-confidence. I must get over the feeling of conceitedness. Accomplishing goals helps grow my confidence.

Since a new year is a good reference for life edits, I've come up with a few determinations for 2023:

•Volunteer: choose a cause I'm passionate about and lift others up.

•Certification: seek a certification related to my business.

•Feedback: regular requests for positive feedback.

•Reminder: point out to everyone that I know what I'm doing.

•Self-appreciation: seek out opportunities to appreciate my image through art modeling.