I AM ! Whatever you want it to be
It's often said that the words that follow 'I am' determine so much, the stories we tell ourselves are powerful and if we think we can, we can, and if we think we can't, we can't.
That internal dialogue of ours can be a friend or a foe. It can be brutally negative, breaking us down and wearing us out. It can be empowering and full of why not's and go-get-'ems.
Whilst we don't have a say or sway about how other people see us - their perspectives laden and influenced by their inner workings - we do get 100% sway in how we see ourselves, to re-write the stories we tell, to reinvent ourselves (if we so wish), to change the course of momentum we're on, to take responsibility for what we bring to the table - because, you have so much to bring even if right now, you can't see that because your 'I am's' have been negative.
The 'I am rubbish at...' and 'I am never going be able to...' and 'I am nothing like that person I aspire to be like...' and 'I am every shortcoming you can think of', these are all looking at what we lack, where we feel we fail, who we feel we 'should' be. It's all very well being aware of the bits of ourselves that aren't the strongest but the continual nitpicking, pointing this stuff out to ourselves and reminding ourselves of it, isn't helping us in any which way, it's harming us.
Edgar Guest wrote the poem "It couldn't be done" which resonates with this thought process:
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!
You have your own unique strengths, powers and characteristics, it's no secret that we all do. It's not arrogant, egotistical or boastful to accept and appreciate those traits. It's wise. When we're on the receiving end of kindness it bolsters us, we hold our heads up higher and we feel a little fuller of va-va-voom. When we're on the receiving end of unkindness, we try to make ourselves smaller, we want to hide, we flood with doubt and shame and anger.
Let yourself sit in the discomfort of looking at yourself through a more favourable lens and bigger mirror.
Let yourself be the catalyst for that flutter of kindness to flow through you and to fortify.
Let yourself acknowledge the role you play in giving yourself a leg-up or metaphorically kicking yourself in the leg.
Let your 'I am's' be kind ones.
#MondayMotivation
Full version of Edgar Guest poem "It couldn't be done"
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44314/it-couldnt-be-done