If any of you have lived through the era of Spongebob Squarepants you may remember “Opposite Day.” Spongebob and Patrick get into all kinds of shenanigans with saying and doing everything opposite than normal. It’s rather funny, I know that I have heard the episode multiple times because my 4 kids were definitely Spongebob fans.
I am making today’s challenge opposite of what it “should” be. The challenge question asked for me to write today are what are my worst habits. Oh goodness, really? Do I really want to sit here and write about a bunch of negative things? Or at least what I assume are negative about me? No thank you!! For those of us who live with mental illness we know how hard it can be to have positive self esteem. My life took a real downturn many years ago around the time of my divorce and my self esteem hit rock bottom. Probably somewhere under that rock is where my self esteem actually was hiding. My mental illnesses intensified which led to self-injury, horrible self-worth and more. It has taken me years and years to build my self esteem back up. Even today I have hard time believing that I am “good enough,” or else sometimes a circumstance arises where I fall right back under that rock. Luckily I have learned to climb out, but it’s not always easy.
So, in honor of Opposite Day, I will say a few positive things about myself.
1.I think I always will say that I have been a good mom. Not the best, but who really is? I love being a mom, with all of its ups and downs and in-betweens. Even during my darkest days I held on to the fact that I loved my kids more than anything and did the best I could at being a single loving mother. The 4 of them are my first joys and always will be.
2, So I think I am a good listener. Lol sometimes that can be hard because you get with a person who LOVES to talk about themselves and never shuts up!! Hahaha, but over all, yes I like to listen and offer caring support to others when I can.
3. I am dedicated to my job. Most of the time. I work for a non-profit which means I am helping others and that is good. It is a very stressful job which can be disadvantageous to my brain health. But I know I work hard and do the best I can. As I am in a long-term recovery at home right now, it is hard to think about work, but I will get back to it in time.
Oh gosh, my mind just went blank!! Seriously blank! I guess I have put myself on the spot and my mind starts reverting to negative perceptions of myself instead of positive. This damn Opposite Day isn’t working! I should really try harder to come up with things, but I think it better if I stop because my brain is feeling a bit overwhelmed and bad habit thoughts are creeping in.
Do you ever try coming up with positives to boost your self-esteem? Do you try daily affirmations or some other trick to feel good about YOU. I would love to hear your ideas.
Jenny