Twisting myself into a psychological pretzel

January 09, 2015 2:32 PM

I used to be notoriously hard on myself for not always living up to the standards and ideals that I so prolifically promoted. The cognitive dissonance would be crushing.

If I were to sleep through my alarm on a weekday, for example, instead of loving myself and enjoying the extra hours of sleep and forgiving myself for falling short, I would spend the rest of the day trying to overcompensate for my perceived laziness, working though lunch, thereby eradicating any shred of cognitive dissonance and convincing myself that the cobbler’s kid really does have shoes, that I really am smoking what I’m selling, and that I’m still the beacon of productivity and commitment and achievement that I expect myself to be.

Insert manly grunt sound here.

Turns out, that process was exhausting. I spent so much of my energy twisting myself into a psychological pretzel, that I barely had any calories left for the rest of my life.

Over time, though, I started to accept a few realizations.

First, life doesn’t always allow me to be as disciplined as I want. And there’s nothing I can do about that. Second, I don’t need another reason to be hard on myself. There are already enough negative scripts in my head.

Ultimately, I realized that I am worthy of the same love and forgiveness that I give to others. And I am choosing to include myself in the circle of my compassion when I suffer.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you treating yourself as you wish to be treated?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of the list called, “26 Ways to Practice Being Yourself,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com