My friend, K, posted this quote on Facebook yesterday, "I praise myself for big and little things. I am a wonderful being. I used to scold and criticize myself because I believed it would help me improve my life, yet criticism has not improved me over the years." - Louise L. Hay
I'll admit, I sometimes call myself names. Or I catch myself creating negative inner dialogue. Asking myself how I could have been so stupid or punishing myself by thinking over and over what I should have done.
When I catch myself, I stop. I know negative inner dialogue does nothing but reinforce negative beliefs and behaviors.
But the idea of praising myself, well, this is new. And I think I like it! Maybe I'll close out a day's work by saying, "Suzanne, that training you worked on today is great. You are AWESOME!" Why not, when I look in the mirror, think, "Wow! I look good!" instead of something negative like my hair looks too frizzy or my butt looks big in those jeans? Or what about giving myself props when I do something nice for someone else? How about telling myself, "That was a nice thing to do. Good job!"
I'm going to try it. Who wants to join me in praising yourself?
xoxo,
Suzanne
About Me
- Suzanne Casamento
- Author of Fingerprints, Choosing Tally, and All the Moments in Between. Tweet me @suzannecasamento
A few days ago, my husband sent me a text message from work, thanking me for everything I do for him. I actually said to myself "Yeah, I take good care of him". That's when I feel like I'm doing something important.
ReplyDeleteCan I praise you now? You come up with interesting questions here every day. Good Job!
I'm in! I've been doing something similar for years, though. Have you ever seen the movie Constantine (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0360486/)? For the past few years I've been looking at life like Keanu Reeves character. I did enough crap growing up that I feel like I've got to pay it back to have any chance at salvation. So whenever I do something good or something that I'm proud of, I say to myself, "Ding! That's one more."
ReplyDeleteI'll try but I'm really bad at it!! Thanks for the reminder to be kinder! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me - HELL NO - self praise???? what????? Suz, we need to talk about this one....I am very nervous
ReplyDeleteYou are a great cook and writer! Thats praise for you. Not me......
ReplyDeleteMost of the time I have a lot of fun in my head. Nice job brain!
ReplyDeleteYou're talking old dog new tricks. The Bitch has been talking trash to me so long we're old friends. Hmmm. Praise? I'll have to start at pre-K and work up.
ReplyDeleteI'll join the praise game. I guess now that I think about it, I don't often actually engage in that positive self-talk. My mental dialogue responds to my inner critic by helping convince myself I'm not "that bad," and I think of that as being positive. Our minds are crazy.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with a little positive self-talk, and do it frequently. I also think it's an important thing to model for my daughters. Today I'm proud of myself for running the 48 Hour Book Challenge again. So, there you have it.
ReplyDelete