361 I'm Upgrading | December 2017 Wednesday Week 5

Wisdom Wednesdays-#361 December 27 The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast I’m Upgrading The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried. ~ (not sure who said it as I have seen multiple attributions from Confucius to Stephen McCranie to Yoda of Star Wars) Sometimes it would nice to be ordinary, to not worry about whether you’re getting better, or if you’re good enough already. Sometimes it’d be nice to not care about how you’re perceived, or how well of a job you did, and what the future will hold for us. Sometimes it’d be nice to be kinder to ourselves in the pursuits of becoming who we’re meant to be. And if you’re listening to this podcast, I’m pretty sure you’re like me where you want more for your life, where you want to be better for yourself and for the people around you, where you want to be constantly challenged because you’ve found joy in growth…and remembering the great lesson you learned, that being comfortable isn’t always the best road. I’ve lived a life being very critical of myself. I figured the more I could keep telling myself why I failed, then the more I would learn from it and become better. And while I kept working on self-improvement, I kept holding myself back because of the unkind way I was dealing with myself. While I’m sure I improved in some areas, I regressed in many other areas because of my unkind ways towards myself. In fact, I trained my subconscious to begin hating me. Our subconscious doesn’t know the difference between truth or fiction…it’s only a mirror reflecting what you show or tell it. I’ve spent a good portion of my life reading, listening to, or seeking self-improvement techniques. And while I kept reading and trying to learn ways to become better, something felt very wrong…because I always felt crappy. I put on the mask of happiness for everyone else, but I could feel the spark of who I was dying silently within me. And while I didn’t know how to change at the time, I knew that what I was doing wasn’t producing the results I wanted…and so I did the only thing I knew how to…I began changing the dialogue I utilized towards myself. And while I’m not perfect, I continually work not to just become better, but I work to become kinder to myself. Kindness doesn’t mean I give up easily, in fact it makes me more relentless as I encourage myself to find better ways around my obstacles. And through that kindness, it gives me more energy as I become my best advocate. It’s like that teacher, parent, friend, or coach who believed in you…you gained more resolve and energy because you knew they believed in you…and if they believed in you then it meant they thought you could do it. The power of someone believing in us is a wonderful gift. So now anytime I make a mistake, I work to believe in myself like others did in me. When I make a mistake, it’s a perfect chance for me to change my focus from saying I’m a piece of crap for not being good enough or that I messed up royally in that project, event, or relationship…into saying something more positive and reminding myself that there is a great learning opportunity here. So I’m going to challenge you to be better with me, not by berating yourself, but by being kinder to yourself. I’m going to challenge you to change your internal dialogue from, “I’m a mess up, I’m a failure, I’m so stupid or that was so stupid of me,” or whatever hateful thing you could say…and instead say, “I am upgrading.” I want to remind you that you are learning from every fall, you are bettering yourself by going through your mistakes and seeing them as lessons not as ending points, and you are becoming your own best advocate believing in the greatness of yourself again. You are not becoming obsolete as the world keeps moving forward…you’re upgrading yourself constantly…by challenging yourself and seeing your mistakes as necessary, and you are becoming kinder to yourself on your journeys. You’ve come to this podcast to become better. I want you to really hear me when I say this…so pause your mind for a second and listen…you can’t become better if you aren’t loving yourself. You can’t become happier or more joyful if you’re continually finding ways to hate who you are and what your perceived failures are. And while you can live a life of getting by, you can’t live a life of fulfillment focusing on why you never have enough or are enough. You are enough! It’s not that you’re failing, it’s that you are constantly learning and upgrading to become the best version of yourself. Today’s Personal Commitment:When you make a mistake, or call yourself a failure…change your dialogue to say… I’m upgrading. It’s not a pass to give up on things, but it’s a different way of handling the issues in front of you. So this week I’m going to challenge you to add this phrase to your vocabulary and see how you feel and what happens when you make it a bigger part of your narrative. I’m Upgrading     Thanks for listening.  I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Personal Development Life Coach- Chris O'Hearn Contact info- email: [email protected]  phone:865-219-3247     Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide