Do you ever stop and give yourself credit for all you have survived? I read in a book to make a list of all the things you have accomplished so you can remind yourself of even the smallest of victories. As I get older and face adversity, I tend to fall into old patterns. I let the fear, anxiety and doubt overtake my body until I start giving myself a pep talk. Have you ever done that?
Somedays, I wish I could go back in time and give my younger self pep talks. Tell my younger self not to worry and that everything will be better soon. I think about all the times in my life when I felt so broken, crushed, ashamed, unworthy, unloved, and completely lost. I'm sure you have once felt so alone and thought no one understood what you were going through. If you are currently going through some kind of conflict or difficulty…
Tell yourself this: “You can and will survive this.”
Remember when you were young and you had your first crush and they broke your heart? You thought that you would never get over them. And sure enough you did.
Remember the time when you got a bad grade in class and you thought you were going never going to be accepted to college? And that grade didn’t even change your educational or career path.
Remember the time when you broke something or crashed your car or lost something of value and you got so mad at yourself? And now you can look back and learn from that experience.
Remember the time you were dead broke, drowning in debt and you had no money to buy things, like food, gas for your car or even go to the movies? And now you don’t think twice to getting those luxuries.
Remember the time when you felt like you were never going to get married and no one was ever going to love you unconditionally? And now you are happily married or in a wonderful relationship.
Remember the time when you got a call that a loved one passed away and you were beyond devastated, you thought you would never laugh again? And now you can remember them with a loving heart and laugh at all the memories you shared.
Maybe these don’t apply to you but I am sure you can list things you thought you were never going to get over. I am sure in life you had some obstacle that you faced and thought it was so enormous you would never get past it and you did. Did you give yourself credit?
I think we tend to forget all that we have survived already. We need to give ourselves credit for everything we have already endured. Like a badge of honor, we have all survived something in our lives and we need to remember what we are capable of. With every new obstacle that is presented in our lives, continue to develop ways to get stronger and know that you will survive it. I also believe in sharing our truth, our hurts, our pains or our badges of honor because it encourages others to know that they too can be survivors.
Listen, I know I can never go back in time to tell my younger self that everything will turn out great but what I can do is give myself credit for all that I have accomplished up until now. This is why I give myself pep talks. I start by changing my negative self talk and start encouraging myself to remember all the times I thought everything was going to shit. And force myself to remember the reality of how everything turned out to be better than I expected.
I know that in difficult life situations, we sometimes lose focus and allow ourselves to get caught up in the negative. We allow ourselves to let fear, anxiety and doubt overcome our bodies but during these times we need to remember all the badges of honor we have already accumulated. We need become our own cheerleader, our own inner coach, our own motivator. Love yourself, encourage yourself, remember all that you have accomplished and remember all of the badges of honor you have already earned. And start giving yourself credit.
So if you are going through a difficult time in life, look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself, “You can and will survive this.”
