You know you do it – you know you do! We highlight our own failures and foibles in our own mind. The mistakes we have done always seem to haunt us more than the fantastic things we have accomplished? I know…I do it too! Maybe that is why these words from Malcolm S. Forbes resonated with me:
Too many people overvalue what they are not, and undervalue what they are!
– Malcolm S. Forbes 1990
It takes courage and consistency to reprogram our brains to value our good traits and stop focusing on our bad ones. Like our third grade teacher who told us we were stupid, or the adult who made jokes about us being different, or even worse how our family members treated us, it is as if all that descends upon our minds WAY TOO FREQUENTLY! Those negative tapes just seem to turn on when we least expect it. Those people’s comments live in our head and drive us to madness…you know they do! And as a result we overvalue all that negative and it becomes the voice in our head.
What if today you spent five minutes writing down all the great things you have accomplished? The spelling bee you won in fifth grade? The art show ribbon you were awarded for your first photograph? The myriad of accolades you have heard over the years and maybe even the voices of the people who are your biggest fans? What if you wrote down AGAIN those positive words, those life changing moments of glory and praise, those thrilling times when you were proud of being you? And then, what if read that list every morning when you woke up? How would your day be different, better, more positive and less fearful? What is you truly valued the things you have done which have made you who you are?
It is all a process of programming our minds to think about what we can do by reminding ourselves of what we have done. It means stopping the madness, the negative memories and voices, and preventing ourselves from going down that rabbit hole of sour grapes and nasty comments. It is a choice to succeed AND accept that you are worthy, capable and willing to be wild happy and proud of who you are today! Being you is a great thing…it truly is. Maybe today you need to spend time reminding yourself how terrace you are and VALUE who you are, and who you are becoming.
Life is too short to focus on the negative. Stop giving it the power to overvalue the mistakes and instead overvalue your triumphs! We are all a work in process, so be sure to build into your day the process of valuing who you are instead of who you are not.
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