How Do You Feel About Yourself Today?
Lately, I’ve noticed a number of articles that reference the start of the pandemic in the US a year ago. It reminds me of something I will frequently do to check in with myself to see if I’m making progress in the areas I’m trying to change.
Whenever the mood strikes, I’ll take a couple of quiet moments to look back at where I was a year ago. I’ll consider where I’m living, what I’m doing, the people in my life, and most importantly, how I feel about myself. It’s this last question that is the key to understanding if I’m making the kind of progress I want in my life. Other people can tell you what they think and observe in you, but it comes back to what you think about yourself.
As I take the time to ponder these questions, I find myself making some mental assessments with events I was involved with and the people who played a role in those events. As I go through some of the more significant or impactful events I notice how I felt as I revisit the different memories. Sometimes feelings of excitement, happiness, and surprise are joined by embarrassment, frustration, anger, and yes, fear!!
In revisiting these memories, there is a mental comparison with where I find myself at the moment. Am I happier, more satisfied, still moving in the direction I want to go? Noticing my reference with today helps me to understand how I’ve grown and changed. The feelings of making progress, no matter how small, are the ones I drill down to understand better. This is where I can start to understand more about myself and how to continue to make forward progress.
I do notice the negative feelings, but I don’t spend much time with them except to learn from the experience. Then I go right back to the areas I’ve made forward progress. This is my way of learning from my mistakes, but not dwelling on them and shifting the energy back to moving forward.
As we all recognize a year of living with Covid, take time to reflect on where you were 12 months ago. What has changed? What is the same?
Have you achieved some of what you wanted, or are there changes you still want to make? If you are like me, likely, some of both. This is why we are all together on this exciting adventure!