Stand-Up to Yourself!
"Sensei Kreese was right, I can't be my own worst enemy."
Call it a tradition, habit, or ritual, in actuality it's just something I do every year...
On January 1st, I make a steak and eggs breakfast for my family. I?then organize our closets, clean-up the garage, and write down a few goals.?It may sound weird; but it is something I have done for decades.?It gives me a sense of accomplishment and excitement.
This year I just didn’t feel up to it.? So, instead, I binged the entire 4th season of Cobra Kai.
Cobra Kai is definitely one of my guilty pleasures and as much as I might hate to admit it, I love this show.
Looking back now, I was probably feeling a little down to begin with and maybe I put it on trying to do something that would make me happy.
Like many others, the past 24 months has been one of the worst times in my life.?2020 and 2021 have kind of blended together into one long, arduous year.?CoVid-19 took a lot from me and my family and changed our lives forever. I know that I'm not the only one. So, I'd like to offer my deepest condolences to anyone that lost loved ones, jobs, homes or quite frankly anything due to the pandemic.??
Back to Cobra Kai… I am totally enthralled. I'm sitting on the edge of my seat hoping that the?Eagle Fangs and Miyagi-Dos will be able to cooperate to win the All-Valley Tournament... Faster than a roundhouse kick, I started to reflect on my own journey these past couple years. I don’t know if it was the nostalgia of Daniel and Johnny or the fact that it was Day 1 of 2022; but, my thoughts were automatically drawn to the hardest times of the past two-years. My head was flooded with the family I lost, my friendships that have eroded, and the favorite places I left behind. It was uncanny how I could recall every painstaking detail of my personal and professional disappointments from the last couple years. My self-criticism got so bad that I noticed I was starting to embellish the gravity of months old situations, imagine worst-case future scenarios and...
Before long, I was punch-drunk on my own failure and melancholy.
I'm not sure if this was Impostor Syndrome, a little depression or just plain old negative thoughts, but, I wasn't going to allow myself to beat myself up any longer. Maybe I'm just a sucker for an inspirational story, but, it was at that time I remembered the wise words of the character Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid movies,
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"It's okay to lose to your opponent, you must not lose to fear."
I realized that was not being myself. I'm not the type of person who gets bullied by my own pessimism, that's not who I am, but, by this time I was in deep.? I tried to think, “Good Thoughts”, but, struggled to think of anything of significance. I paused the TV and tried to do something different.
In an effort to jog my memory of the "Good Things: in my life, I started flipping through the photos on my phone and looked back through my social channel posts. I asked my family about all the good things we did these past 2 years.? As soon as I began to acknowledge some positive memories, I grabbed a pen and paper?and feverishly began writing a list.?Here are just a few of the things that I could come up with:
I just kept writing anything and everything that seemed good. The longer my list became, the more grateful and encouraged I felt.?I started to realize that while the past two years certainly had challenges, causalities, and catastrophes there was some good in there too. Whether it was conscience or unconscious, I don't know. What I do know is that I just refused to acknowledge it.??Thankfully, I was able to bring myself back.??I don’t know why it’s easier to recollect the bad memories more easily and in greater detail than the good ones; but, it comes on quick and will consume you if you let it.
Maybe I will add writing a list of positive prior year memories and accomplishments to next year's Day 1 Ritual.
If you ever go through something like this, maybe try writing a positive memory list of your own.??If that doesn't work, reach out to someone that cares about you or call a professional.
I did end up finishing the entire fourth season of Cobra Kai that day. I won't spoil it for you. So, I actually did achieve something on New Year's Day! Maybe I will make this the first bullet point on next year's list!?
Strike First & Strike Hard in 2022!
#hashbrown #teamcobrakai #sendtointernet
Photographer & Writer at Helene McGuire Photo
1 年Indeed this article spoke to me! Great quotes and context. Really spoke to me. Thank u!
Healthcare Leader | Remote Sales Director
2 年I just wanted to share this... Even though it may not be that big of a deal, I am really excited about it!!! My "Stand-Up to your Critical Inner Voice" article is being featured for the week in the "The Writing on LinkedIn Group". I can't forward the post outside of the group. (If there is a way, I don't know how to do it). Anyway, I wanted to share a screen shot here. Thanks to everyone who read it, liked it, shared it, and commented on it! This will go on next year's list for sure!!!! ??
Sales Executive - Portfolio Expansion
2 年Did not know I needed this article as much as I did! It is easier to focus on the bad instead of the good a lot of times, but I am going to take your advice and start writing down the positive things that have happened and not dwell on the bad!!
Experienced and dedicated individual
2 年Great read Tom and thanks for posting! Positive thoughts yield positive results.
Enthusiastic, logical, inspiring, fun change agent
2 年It’s funny how we’re hundreds of miles apart but going down similar thinking paths. I felt the strong pull too towards the negative on New Year’s Day. Here’s what i wrote on that day: Happy New Year! Today is a beautiful day. Clouds and rain wash away the soot of yesteryear creating a place for new growth and a clean path forward. Cool temps give us an opportunity for a fire or cuddling on the couch together. Experience tells us the wind will come and push the clouds away leaving space for the sun to shine amidst the brilliant blue sky. Today is beautiful day because we know more beauty will come. Happy New Year.