Do you ever catch yourself saying how stupid you were for making a mistake?  We all innocently do it – it’s an automatic response.  You don’t know what you don’t know, until you know it.  Some words have a lot of power to pull us down and that particular “s” word carries a lot of shaming power.

I recently purchased a new tech toy.  I took it travelling and as I set it up at my destination it didn’t work.  I tried different outlets and tried unplugging and re-plugging.  I was thinking I would have to take it back to the store and all that hassle.  Then I had an ah-hah moment and thought maybe it was upside down.  I physically turned it over, and it worked.  The device was not marked “this side up” and both sides looked very similar.  My first thought about myself was how stupid I was.  Then I caught myself because I know how negative thoughts can take us down. 

The crazy thing is, we only call ourselves stupid after we figure it out or someone shows us a better way.  So, we are judging ourselves after we have discovered a solution.  We judge ourselves for struggling – rather than commending ourselves for our strong efforts.  And, it doesn’t matter how you figured it out.    Finding someone else with the answer is a smart decision.  You were smart enough to ask the right person or try different creative ideas. 

Centered Action

What if every time you made a mistake and figured it out, you said “Ah-hah! I figured it out”?  Try it and see how it changes how you feel about yourself.  It was a brilliance moment when you were able to take the right action, ask the right question or ask the right person to reveal a creative solution.

Say to yourself:  “I release with love this old attitude.  It has served me for a long time, but it no longer serves me for my highest good.  Be gone!”  Then be patient with yourself.  You didn’t develop these attitudes overnight.  They may take persistent and repeated effort to change, but change they will and magic will occur in its place.

If you feel this message would be useful to someone you know, please forward it to them.

Keep the Faith, Clean up the messes in Your Path, Give to Someone Else,

And Be Your Most Magnificent Self…

Jody D.