“Sheesh, you’re looking old today, girlfriend!” “You’ve really shoehorned yourself into those skinny jeans, eh fatty?”

“I wouldn’t bother applying for that job mate, you’d never get it.”

With friends like that, who needs enemies, huh? Only these are not the words of a two-faced mate, a frenemy who offers soothing words of support when we’re down whilst secretly feeling a certain frisson of Schadenfreude. Oh no, this is something far more harmful, crippling us on a daily basis. These are words we say to ourselves. The inner voice sabotaging our everyday actions, personal development and general happiness.

Of course it’s good to have an inner voice when it comes to conscience, intuition, instinct. You need to question the wisdom of your actions, have a quiet word with yourself now and again. But what if the inner dialogue between you and your party-pooper psyche becomes more of a battle of wills, a slanging match? One in which the running commentary of negativity often wins?

It’s time to pull yourself up.

It’s time to sprinkle salt on the slug of self-doubt.

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As women, we’re adept at cheerleading others, encouraging them through the peaks and troughs of life, whilst simultaneously wrestling our own inner critic. But in order to be at our best and get the most out of life, we need to cut ourselves some slack, body-slam that inner bitch and see the good in ourselves, too.

You know those days when everything’s going well and you’re buzzing with excitement – say, the last day at work before a long-awaited holiday? You’re smiling, the day flows, your mood is contagious and all is right in your world, the inner voice cheerfully humming along to your tune. Even the mounting pile in your in-tray or an irritated customer can’t shake your merriment.

Wouldn’t you love to bottle that lighter-than-air feeling to save for those dark days, the ones where you wake up to pelting rain with a stiff neck, a black mood and are telling yourself it’s going to be “one of those days” before you’ve even got past the front door?

With practise, I’m told, there is a way. The first part is awareness: recognising when you’re self-sabotaging, then consciously doing something positive to change your mindset, be it exercise, listening to uplifting music, meeting a friend, calling your mum (good old mum!) or immersing yourself in a hobby you’re passionate about (why do you think I write?).

There will always be tough days, but they will be far easier with a Tigger bouncing about in your head, rather than a downcast Eeyore. I know from personal experience that if you cannot love yourself, it will become nigh-on impossible to love anyone else: sadness permeates every pore, wrecking your health and ruining relationships. You’re constantly on the edge, a tightly coiled spring, and the smallest perceived slight will make you snap. It’s a miserable way to live.

So try telling yourself you can. Put yourself out there. If it doesn’t work, whatever it is, at least you tried. When you’re feeling happy in yourself, you have spare happiness to pass on. You really do get what you give. If you speak sharply to someone, it’s hardly surprising that you get the exact same tone back. If you’re calm, honest, humble, others respond in kind.

If someone compliments you, a simple “thanks!” will suffice. Don’t question it or deflect the praise by shrugging it off, embarrassed, babbling something to the contrary. Absorb it’s warmth like rays of summer sunshine on your face and use the energy that comes from it to spur you on.

Having accepted the compliment, pay it forward. If someone looks great, tell them. Praise someone for a job well done, or message someone you admire to let them know.  When you’re in a good mood, people are attracted to you, which in turn boosts you further.  All these little sparks of positive energy will have a cumulative effect until suddenly you find you have a fire in your belly, strong enough to grab life by the gonads once more.

Obviously I can only speak for women, but I’m not sure men suffer from such fun-numbing neuroses. Even with a paunch, balding and more wrinkles than a Shar-Pei puppy, they seem to look in the mirror and see a Greek god gazing adoringly back at them. It’s like they have reverse body dysmorphia.

Take Peter Stringfellow as a case in point, confidently strutting about in his micro-Speedos on the beach for the tabloids’ paps. I’m sure he hadn’t spent the preceding hour grabbing the flab and bemoaning his bod in the hotel mirror, before slipping on a cover-up and carefully positioning himself on the sunbed at the most flattering angle, stiff as a board as he imagines the other sun-worshippers silently judging him from behind their oversized sunnies.

The recent passing of the universally-loved  Mohammad Ali has thrown his amazing life back into the spotlight, his inspiring quotes cropping up all over the news and social media. The stand-out personality traits which fuelled his success were a) dogged self-belief coupled with b) a sparkling sense of humour; borderline hubris offset by an innate ability to laugh at himself.

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A couple of years ago, I’d split from my husband and partner of fifteen years, having endured years of unsuccessful fertility treatment and the accompanying sense of failure and self-loathing. Meanwhile my friends were in long-term relationships or married, almost all had children and I was 37 years old, separated and living alone for the first time in my life in an eerily silent house. I’d hit rock-bottom and my confidence was at an all-time low.

After a short period of licking my wounds, I knew I had to take action to change my situation. I got a tattoo in Latin, which says “Fortune Favours The Brave,” wrapped around my torso. A bit naff? Maybe. But whenever I wanted to wimp out, I saw the tattoo and it spurred me on, even just to do small things like go to the cinema or a restaurant alone. You can’t have that emblazoned on your bod then act like a pussy, eh?

I stepped down from a stressful role, took a sabbatical and went travelling around Thailand on my own. I threw myself into the dating scene after 15 years (which was a real eye-opener, let me tell you) and met a new man.

I returned to work in a lesser role, prioritising happiness over money, and volunteered helping children in Costa Rica. I started writing regularly and sharing it with you all, knowing that it would mean exposing my innermost thoughts to the world and the criticism that may entail, but it would be following my passion to write. I got an article published (the first I ever submitted) and have you, dear Reader, following my blog, for which I am extremely grateful. Thank you so much

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Of course, there are far braver souls than me out there. I’m not claiming to be some self-help guru, and believe me, I’m often riddled with self-doubt. But one thing I’ve learnt as I get older is that if you don’t believe in yourself, you can’t expect anyone else to. Furthermore, everyone else is far too busy worrying about their own shortcomings and daily dramas to take much notice of yours.

No one knows what the hell we’re doing here, everyone’s just winging it and trying to get through this thing we call “life” as best they can. None of us are getting out of this alive, so we may as well help each other along, try to realise our dreams and have as much fun as we can along the way.

They say “Life is a journey, not a destination.”

Amen to that.

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This article has also appeared at Huffington Post UK.

Sam x


Fancy reading my back-story before you go any further? You can find my other blogs at:

www.costaricachica1.blogspot.com
www.samgoessolo.blogspot.com
www.mummymission.blogspot.com
www.worldwidewalsh.blogspot.com

Follow me:

Twitter: @SamanthaWalsh76 (Life:ABird’sEyeView)
Facebook: @lifeabirdseyeview
Instagram: @lifeabirdseyeview

The post Sprinkle Salt On The Slug Of Self Doubt appeared first on Life: A Birds Eye View.

If you have the dubious pleasure of knowing me you’ll know that I’m full-on, 100mph, non-stop, all the time. I don’t know the meaning of the word relax. A Duracell bunny with no off switch. It’s like my foot is constantly on the gas, flat out, fifth gear, let’s ‘ave it! There are some bonuses to being hyper – I get stuff done, for a start. My motto has always been: “If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing quick.”

This can be hard on those more laid-back people in my life, who are constantly imploring me to “take a chill pill,” as I babble incoherently as soon as my eyes ping open at 6am, my monkey-mind buzzing and spinning like a whirling dervish. I have been known to crank up the heating in my house full-blast in an attempt to boil people from their beds at the crack of dawn just so I can talk at them. How annoying is that? I bet my ex enjoys lying in til lunch now that I’m no longer around to pull that particular stunt. My assistant at work takes one look at me hurtling towards him in the mornings and reaches straight for his supersized can of Monster, downing it in one in an attempt to keep up.

The downside to being a fiery ball of nervous energy is a tendancy towards adrenal burnout as I spin about in the unbecoming manner of a coked-up Tasmanian Devil tornado…

Although I can claim to get stuff done, you’ll notice I didn’t mention anything about the quality of the job, did I?

The classic hyperactive trait of being flighty also carries through to my inability to focus on anything for more than about 30 seconds. I have the attention span of a gnat. With ADHD. Who’s just consumed too many E-numbers.

Funnily enough though, when it comes to having fun, my attention span increases dramatically. Ask me to dance all night long, or be the last girl standing at the bar, no problemo! This girl’s got stamina in the shenanigans department. But something studious (ie tedious) and requiring long-term concentration? Forget it!

Unfortunately this characteristic of leaping headlong from one thing to the next often transfers onto things I actually enjoy doing too, although it’s more a fear of rejection, rather than the fidgets which gives rise to procrastination and not seeing the task through. My inner voice is worse than any playground bully ever was – how frustrating that it’s usually OURSELVES telling us we can’t do something, that we’ll be no good at it? A quote I try to remember is “If you believe you can or believe you can’t, either way you’re right.”

The reason for this post? To quote Nike billboards the world over and holler, “JUST DO IT!” rather than mumbling “Just Do It Later.”

It took me about 30 years to have the balls to do what I love, ie writing, and then another 10 to pluck up the courage to actually share it. Partly due to my fickle nature (I’ve started writing numerous books and never got past the second chapter), but mostly due to the fear of it being utter drivel and boring people senseless.

Only now through the beauty of social media can I write something, silently repeating to myself that I’m worthy whilst my finger hovers over the delete button….then take a deep breath, say “just do it” in my head and hit ‘publish’ instead. I’m basically writing for the love of it, and if another human being can pass a few minutes of their dreaded daily commute enjoying reading it, then that’s a Brucie bonus. Okayyyy, so I haven’t figured out how to make any actual moolah from my writing yet, but hey, one step at a time. Maybe in another 10 years, eh?

So if you’re wondering “should I, shouldn’t I….” do something, whatever it is, I say DO IT! DO IT NOW! (Unless the thing you’re contemplating involves maiming or murder, then maybe give that one a miss, no matter how annoying your boyfriend/mother-in-law/boss may be. I don’t fancy being cited in a lawsuit).

Without trotting out too many tired old cliches, I reckon you only regret the things you DON’T do. You don’t need me to remind you that life is ridiculously short, passing by in the blink of an eye. I hope I haven’t wasted too many precious minutes of yours with this self-indulgent rambling. Whilst I still feel vaguely uncomfortable sharing my innermost thoughts with the judgemental masses, I’ve come to the conclusion that you just gotta do what makes you happy. Life’s too short for anything else.

So if I’ve bored you that’s fine by me, ’cause hopefully it might mean that you’ll take your face out of your iPhone and go and do something you’ve been meaning to do but have been putting off for whatever reason.

Off you go now, run along…

photo credit

Sam x


Fancy reading my back-story before you go any further? You can find my other blogs at:

www.costaricachica1.blogspot.com
www.samgoessolo.blogspot.com
www.mummymission.blogspot.com
www.worldwidewalsh.blogspot.com

Follow me:

Twitter: @SamanthaWalsh76 (Life:ABird’sEyeView)
Facebook: @lifeabirdseyeview
Instagram: @lifeabirdseyeview

The post Just Do It appeared first on Life: A Birds Eye View.