Good Job 2

When’s the last time you gave yourself a little pat on the back and said: Good job?

My most recent post encouraged you to press release on your gifts and accomplishments. That may seem strange if you don’t fully recognize your achievements as such. I used to be the same way — critical of myself, with trouble seeing how far I’d come. Looking back on a dramatic situation and imagining the other potential outcomes helped me finally say, good job.

What happened? Well, some years back the young woman entertaining my man in her spare time made it her business to berate me on social media, privately and publicly. As a wordsmith and one reared in a family where profanity was an art form, I had ALL the tools to handle her, privately and publicly. As I opened social media that evening and was assaulted by her numerous attacks in comments and private messages, my hands literally shook. The internal fight was on. Would I use my tools to get her? Or, would I choose to win the war, while it looked to everyone else like I was losing the battle?

Ladies and gentlemen, I chose to win the war. And as my friend often says, ‘Now, THAT was God.’ See, I didn’t possess what it took to restrain myself of my own accord. In that moment my emotions didn’t care that my fight was spiritual. Therefore, telling this story isn’t glorifying me. It’s pointing others toward the God who can restrain them the way He did for me, and as I’m sure He’s done for you. Why does it matter? Because there are some blow-ups that we can’t recover from easily, as evidenced by the Snapped television show.

So, before you criticize that blow-up you were in recently and discount or disregard the ways in which you have changed, think for a moment how it could have gone. After all I am the one who, in her first year in college, was told by a Ghanian friend that she had never met someone so young with such a foul mouth. Yep. All me.

Perhaps you lost your temper with the kids again. Or over spent again. Maybe you’ve got tons to do and procrastinated until the last minute…again.

Are those the only stories you’ll allow yourself to focus upon? I can almost guarantee there’s something you’re forgetting. Before you go to bed tonight, find a quiet place and set a timer for 5 minutes. Close your eyes and let your mind wander. Go back and find those moments of giving and restraint that you previously ignored to beat yourself up instead. Then, do something you may not have done in ages…pat yourself on the back. We’re not perfect. But, we’re worth more than we often give ourselves credit for.

I’d love to hear about your growth points—big or small. More importantly, someone else who can’t see clear to patting themselves on the back may need your words as a jump start. Let’s hear it! Reply in the comments and share your reason to say, Good job!