Lovely things to say to yourself

The dogs woke me up at 4:45am this morning and I was pretty irritated at first. I was amazed how quickly I turned my irritation around by saying lovely things to myself. As I walked down the hall to let them out, I said, “You’re doing such a great job, Bradlee,” and “You are such a caring person.” I felt the irritation lift and I was even able to go back to sleep after.

Are you interested in being kinder to yourself? In saying lovely things to yourself? Especially saying those words you wish others would say to you? I first learned about how to do this in 2015 after watching this inspirational video by Matt Kahn. It’s a long one, but super worth it. It truly gave me the inspiration and easy suggestions to learn how to witness my life and to validate myself while I live it.

In the spirit of sharing and uplifting all readers, I will share a list of things I find myself often saying to myself. I always feel better when I do this. If I don’t feel better, I ask myself what I need to receive instead, and that usually breaks through the anger, despair or whatever I’m feeling. I’m learning, day by day, to be an expert in being me. I really hope these words inspire you to get a PhD in Being Me too!

Examples of lovely things to say to yourself:

• Hey, you just did an awesome job washing the dishes, way to go!
• Thank you for vacuuming, especially since you were so tired. I really appreciate you.
• You nailed that presentation at work today honey, woohoo!
• I’m so proud of you, you used your voice to speak up about your boundaries so well.
• That was a really good, clear email you wrote at work. Well done!
• Way to take a few minutes to lie down, breathe and relax before moving onto your next task.
• You did a great job pulling food out of the freezer to make sure you could make healthy meals.
• You did such a good job honoring yourself today. You recognized you had limited energy, and you ordered groceries online, and cooked simpler foods for meals.
• You spoke up about what your intuition told you instead of doubting yourself! Nice work. I hope you know how trustworthy you are going forward!
• I’m so proud of you for recognizing that you needed time to yourself today and for taking it.
• You did a good job relaxing while you were walking the dogs. You also were a rock star in keeping them from pulling you to the back of the forest.
• You are such a tender, sweet and caring person. You are very good at loving your family and caring for others.
• I can tell you are strained and anxious right now. I super honor you. Is there anything I can do for you?
• Oh man, you are doing a great job of thinking massively resentful thoughts. Is there something I can do for you? I know there’s still laundry to do and dishes to wash, but you matter more.

These are just a sample of things I may say to myself at various points in the day. I need to say these lovely, caring things to myself especially on days when I am really tired or feeling anxious or overwhelmed. I’d greatly welcome comments about which of these feels good to you or what you say to yourself that makes you feel good!

Let’s do this! Let’s choose to honor and love ourselves! Let’s choose to be kind to the most important people in our lives, but especially ourselves.

Big hugs! xoxoxoox

© Bradlee Zrudlo 2023.  All Rights Reserved.