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Recently I posted a blog about the reminder to “like yourself”. In my own journey to improved, I had stumbled upon the reality that I had let some people influence my self esteem. Little snide comments (mostly behind my back that got back to me, but some up front critiques) sunk in and hurt how I viewed me on the inside.
After writing that post, I had a weird flashback to Brian Tracy. When I was a young sales person, I was a huge fan of Mr. Tracy. I read his books and listened to his tapes regularly. Along with Harvey Mackay, he inspired me not only to be a better sales professional, but to become a motivational speaker. My career as a keynote speaker can be easily traced back to Mackay and Tracy and how they modeled the business of speaking.
Below is a short video of Brian Tracy talking about his theory of why “I Like Myself” and other ways to enhance self esteem is key to success. I found the video in doing a quick search, and there are many many examples of him talking about using this positive affirmation to keep moving ahead. No matter what problems you face, if you like yourself, you will find ways to overcome.
Many will roll their eyes at this simple advice. But it is really true. I had allowed outside views to hurt how I saw me. There was a time when I was fond of myself, but about 14 years ago I got derailed. I let the words of others cloud how I saw myself, and I honestly cannot remember the last time (before this recent discovery of self awareness) that I uttered the thought “I like myself”. While my esteem was not the opposite (I didn’t hate myself), it was not positive by any means.
I remember the childhood rant of “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me”. Well that is BS. Words do hurt. Especially when they come from someone you care about, respect, or want approval. There were many little dings to my self esteem, not one major incident. But “I like myself” went out the door and my view of me was not helping my growth. I had got paralyzed in some ways and was lost.
But as it turns out, I am not so bad. And the people who created this internal sink hole for me were not intentionally trying to cause harm, but they had (and have) their own personal internal issues (we all do). I cannot point a finger. I did not have to allow the critical opinions to get into my soul.
My soul was bruised. I have begun the work to cleans this negativity from my heart, and forgiveness is the world of the day.
I am going back and re-reading Brian Tracy’s work. By 2019 standards it is “light” – but that is our problem in the modern day. We expect everything useful to be heavy and surrounded by statistics. But his advice of saying “I like myself” is a good start for me (it might not be the message you need).
Say it with pride:
I like myself
I like myself
I like myself.
If you have not taken the time to look closely at your own opinions of you. You in your job, your community, your family, etc… do it now. Do you like who you are? If the answer is no, then figure out why. Is there something you can change? Do you need counseling? Can you improve? Or have you let others cloud your perceptions. Screw them. Take back your pride in self.
Having written blogs for over 14 years, I know few people will see this post. Fewer still will have an ah-ha moment from reading the message. But one or two will reach out and tell me this was the right topic on the right day for their own directions on a journey.
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Thom Singer is a keynote speaker and professional master of ceremonies / EmCee. He is the host of two podcasts and the author of 12 books.