A great big shoutout to my mother, the coolest lady I know.
…and strong – both emotionally AND PHYSICALLY.
As you know, I do a lot of shipping. And, when I have a giant carload to drop off at the post office, my mom will often come along to help me. Watching her walk out the front door when I came to pick her up today, she had a smile across her face like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. She pointed to the shirt she was wearing which read, “I hate being sexy but someone has to do it.”
The words, “Oh my Lord,” were still coming out of my mouth when she opened the passenger side door to get in.
“I just picked this up from the thrift store!” She giggled, adding. “Hey, I’ve eaten right this week, got a bunch of exercise in: I’m doing awesome. Somebody’s gotta say it.”
And, she’s absolutely right.
I am fantastic at drawing my attention to all the ways I need to work on myself: A roll here, a wrinkle there. I can spot a blemish from a mile away. Still, it’s hard for me to look in the mirror and admit I look good, so much better than I did for many years.
But, someone has to do it.
Seriously, you need to hear you look good. You will not be successful in the long term if you are ignoring your self-esteem all together or fueling it on negative nagging.
Like so many folks, I’ve adopted a wrong belief that it’s other peoples’ job to tell me I look nice. My husband, my kids, my friends, my extended family – that’s who should be praising my outward appearance. After all, if I am the one saying I look good, I’m just being conceited. And, that’s not a good look for anybody.
As I said, that’s a wrong belief.
It’s nice when my husband and kids brag on my appearance, but that’s not their job. In fact, putting the burden on them to notice positive changes in me is really unfair. Either they will exhaust themselves constantly scanning for areas to praise me or they will fall short of my needs and expectations, which can do damage to our relationship.
As I look in the mirror at the new shirt I bought, I can also take a minute to look at the new girl wearing it. She’s giving her health goals all she’s got and she’s come so much further than she ever thought possible. If I only have enough time to glance at myself before I run out the door, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to look for the good instead of always scanning for what’s wrong with me?
That’s what my mom did this morning. And one thing’s for sure: Mother knows best.
