How many times recently have you beat yourself up over things you’ve done wrong? Face it, we all are very good at criticizing ourselves over the mistakes we make, the things we forget to do, and any number of other faults we perceive in ourselves.
How often do you celebrate the things you do right? Ever?
A funny thing about the mind is that it believes what it hears often. When we pick on ourselves constantly, we eventually convince ourselves that we are not worthy, that we don’t deserve it (whatever ‘it’ happens to mean), that the world really is against us, that (insert your self-doubt story here).
But this is by choice. You can choose the script you use just as easily as you can choose the clothes you put on in the morning. We’ve spoken about this before.
An important step that we haven’t talked about before is celebrating the successes in life. To counteract the times you punish yourself for doing something wrong, it’s important to congratulate yourself for all the things you do right. Pat yourself on the back. Throw yourself a party. Take yourself out to dinner. Buy yourself a gift. Give yourself an afternoon off.
Did you get up on time every day this week? Celebrate! Did you grill the steak ‘just right’? Celebrate! Did you knock out three things on your to-do list for the day? Celebrate!
Every time you congratulate yourself, you build esteem and self-confidence. With greater confidence comes higher productivity, greater mental clarity and focus. With these traits you get more done right, and you have more reasons to congratulate yourself. It’s a fantastic positive-feedback loop for the soul.
Have you ever noticed how much top-level athletes celebrate? While their egos may be over-the-top, a big part of why they are so successful at their sport is that their internal dialog is self-supporting. You can even see it during a competition: the ones who have positive dialog look powerful and play well, and the ones who fall into a self-critical loop look defeated long before the game is over. A quick celebration in the middle of a performance boosts the mind and increases the likelihood of a great outcome.
Congratulations don’t have to be extravagant, they just have to be meaningful. Do something you like for a few minutes, without guilt. Reward yourself for every little thing you do right or well, and you’ll find you get more right and complete more well. Practice celebrating anything you can think of, and you’ll build a habit that will repay you thousands of times over.
Cheers for being you! Hip, hip, HOORAY!
Other news
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From the editor
I’m trying to get everything packed up for my next move. My wife and I are traveling to Korea to be English teachers for a year. I’ll be leaving in a little over a week.
So once again I am putting everything in storage, dropping in on all my friends for quick social calls to catch up on life, and otherwise scrambling to get all my business in order so that I can get on a plane for another continent.
As always, I’ll continue to publish issues wherever I am. I’ll be in the center of some very ancient teachings and traditions, so topics in the coming months will probably be influenced by my new learnings. I look forward to whatever the move may bring!
If you’ve ever been there and can recommend sights to see or things to do, I welcome your suggestions.
Healthy thoughts,
Jeff
