Give yourself an A+

Remember when we were younger people in elementary, middle or high school and our teachers would use a red pen? We would get red check marks on our papers and quizzes when our answers to questions were wrong. Our grade would be written at the top of the page in bright red ink.

At one of my favorite conferences this year there was a keynote speaker named Kai Kight. He is a violinist and speaks about playing other people’s music verses the freedom to be gained by creating your own music. It was a pretty cool metaphor for living your life by your own terms.? In the midst of that, he talked about the red pen that we use in our own lives.

?In the negative sense, sometimes we red pen a person who upsets us, or we red pen our own selves, when we use it to censor ourselves or shame ourselves or get down on ourselves because we haven't done enough. Because we aren't enough. Because we haven't met our goals. Because we haven't… whatever. We slash a big ole red mark against ourselves. That’s the negative red pen.?

But there's also a positive aspect to the red pen. We can use the red pen when we recognize we have said something mean and unwarranted to someone, we can red pen that mean attitude right out. We can red pen slash thru any negative thoughts we have about ourselves. Use it when you want to make a change and stop some harmful behavior. Take the red pen and scratch through that negative shit and get it out of our lives.?

Use the red pen to give yourself an A+! For doing your best, most of the time.

You are worth it!- Kelli