I remember being at this one dance competition when I was in high school. It was the first competition I had ever been to and I was so excited! The buzz in the air was magnetic. The hustle and bustle was polarizing. The smell of hairspray was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The lights were bright as we took our places on stage. The silence of the crowd was brought instantly to life with our song and we started moving and strutting around like we owned the place. Halfway through, I completely forgot the routine and next thing I knew, I was the only one standing as everyone was kneeling on stage, giving the spot light to a solo dancer in our group (which I ended up ruining...or at least that's how I felt). I didn't know what to do but I can tell you I'll never forget that moment for the rest of my life. And I'll always remember the words my coach said to me when I confronted her about it: "You are your worst critique".
This little phrase, this little saying almost became a mantra in my life. It was something I always came back to and something I've even told others as well. And it sounds like a horrible thing to say and live by if you don't have the right mindset. It's easy to take this phrase with defeat, and accept that we are our worst critique, causing us to feel like a failure. But that's not what I'm getting at here.
See, I always thought of this phrase when I was being hard on myself and it reminded me that I'm not as bad as I think. Everyone is too busy with themselves to even notice me and my so-called "failures". It's so easy to get down on ourselves and allow that negative thinking to rule our lives.
Let me ask you this, what was the first thing you told yourself when you rolled out of bed and stepped up to the mirror this morning?
I know for the longest time, I started off my day by criticizing myself, picking at the way I looked. But what happens if we were to change just one thing in the morning and one thing at night to turn this damaging thinking around?
So, for a while now, instead of waking up, getting super close to that mirror and picking at the way I look, I've been challenging myself to take a step back, smile at myself and tell myself 3 positive things like "I am beautiful. I am awake. I am worth getting to know." And it's started to change my daily thinking.
On top of that, I just recently read about a challenge to write down 3 things you did right or well at the end of the day. Little victories are often taken for granted but when we take time to celebrate them, it lifts our self-esteem and therefore our confidence and also makes us feel accomplished at the end of the day. Then, the next day, we feel more equip to handle what we have on our plate instead of getting dragged down by thinking of what we didn't accomplish the day before.
There are many different things that can make us happy, but happiness starts with a mindset. And that mindset needs to be worked on little by little every day. For it's the little things that make the biggest difference.
Morning Routine:
3 Affirmations, 3 things you're grateful for, 3 things you want to make happen
Night Routine:
3 things I did right/well, 3 things I could've done to make my day better