I’m proud of you. Even if I don’t know you that well personally. The simple reason for this, is that I’m a firm believer of people always doing and acting in the best way they can with the tools they have at that moment. And even though I may or may not agree with you on the way you said or did certain things, I am proud. And honestly: you probably won’t agree with me on things too. Lucky for us, there’s seldom one right and one wrong.
Looking at reasons not to be proud
It can be quite easy to see what’s going wrong. To see all the things that you’re not proud of. The things that you didn’t achieve. The few spelling mistakes you oversaw, even though the rest of your essay is written perfectly. The unthoughtful comment you made, even though you think about your words carefully 90% of the time.
I KNOW there’s lots of things you could be proud of. So go through the list down below and for everything that (in the past year) applied to you… take a moment to feel proud. We’re nearing the end of the year, and a moment of positive reflection never hurt anyone.
Things to feel proud of
I…
- did something to help the climate
- asked someone for help
- went to bed earlier than past years
- drank some water almost every day
- took my mental health seriously
- did something that scared you
- gave something to the homeless
- put some money on my savings account
- learned something new
- learned how to make a new dish
- did something by myself
- had a difficult talk with someone I love
- stood up for yourself
- made a new friend
- passionately worked on something
- stood up for myself
- stood up for someone else
- unfollowed some people on Instagram who didn’t contribute to my happiness
- dared to be vulnerable
- made myself smile
- made someone else smile
- consciously took time for self-care
- tried to listen to other people’s arguments, even if my opinion differed
- volunteered
- forgave myself for a mistake I made
- forgave someone else for a mistake they made
- sometimes got out of bed without hitting the snooze button
- didn’t complain when I felt like complaining
- was grateful for the little things
- worked out
- worked out even when I didn’t feel like it
- chose to not work out when I really didn’t feel like it
- listened to my body
- read a book
- became a less jealous person
- threw a party
- did my best to love myself exactly the way I am
- didn’t pretend
- worked on myself
- learned how to become better at receiving
The list could go on and on and on and on. The feeling I get when I shift my focus from ‘what didn’t I do this year?’ to ‘but wait… what DID I do?’ is a special one. I’m sure you can come up with a list of one hundred things you’re proud of. You just have to start paying attention to what you achieve. For starters: what did you do today that you’re proud of? Got out of bed immediately? Prepared yourself a nice lunch? Went for a workout? A run? Maybe even a bit faster or a bit longer than the last time you went? Did you give someone a compliment? Helped someone out? Said ‘no’ to a meeting with friends because you feel like you need some me-time tonight? Said ‘yes’ spontaneously because you feel like trying something new?
I’m proud of you. Hope you’re proud of you too. And if not anything else: I hope you feel proud for trying.
Love,
Lobke