Friday, November 21, 2008

Patience with ourselves...

Ever listen to your self talk for any length of time or write down what you are saying inside? It's too easy to be critical of ourselves-our hair style, weight or behavior. It's a rare person who speaks positively to themselves. "You can do that, just try a little harder, etc." That's practicing patience with ourselves. Some of us may be into saying mantras like "Today I will be happy..." but how powerful is that really? I'm one who believes in optimism but also being realistic. Having been a perfectionist or idealist most of my life, I find myself changing in my more mature years to a practical realist. 

If something is not working for me then I try to analyze how to change it and what the consequences of not changing it would be. Example-trying to take stress out of my life by learning to say NO when asked to do something that I really don't want to do or realizing when I need to make a change of routine and find a new way of operating. Hope you know what I'm saying or rather thinking. A blog is a fun place to try out your thoughts and get reactions from others on life with its complexities.

4 comments:

  1. I believe in keeping your goal in plain sight. There are several methods of doing that. I can keep a picture of a smiling, skinny me on the fridge... I can keep a picture of a smiling, skinny me in my minds eye with mantras... I can keep the scale visable on the bathroom floor, size 8 jeans in the front of my closet, and healthy snacks where the cookie jar used to be. I guess I believe in mantras when and if they're just one of the methods chosen to help me up the ladder to reaching my goal. I have a few associates who lean towards saying positive things over and over, and don't do much else. Oh, except for the one guy who went out and bought himself a red Mercedes to help himself believe he was a successful entrepeneur. He didn't make a lot of business calls or build up much of a network of colleagues, but he drove some nice wheels...until the bank took them away.
    To me, that's a little like writing a play, painting the scenery, buying some costumes... and not having any actors to perform. Ain't gonna have much of an opening night, let alone a long run on Broadway.
    I found one of the greatest things I've ever done to increase my sense of value is to surround myself with positive people who have found gtheir own reasons to like me. People who are upbeat and have had to face and tackle a few of their own demons...and have made it to the goal line in their own lives now and then.

    I love your learning to say "No". I think I may give that a try. It sounds like that could be a major stress reliever.

    Another great post that leaves me thinking.

    Hope you're enjoying your trip.

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  2. That's very true about trying out ideas in your blog. I've made a bit of a mistake in letting friends and relatives know about it. They don't comment but they read it so I have to be careful what I say. I take it back. My sister in law does comment.

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  3. one thing i always talk to myself is to be more patient and always keep telling myself to try one more time before getting angry... but often its forgotten in the heat of the moment...

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  4. I'm afraid that my internal dialogue isn't very kind to me and you are right, words do matter, even to yourself..

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