I was in the habit of talking to myself using this phrase: “What’s wrong with you, Paula?” When something didn’t work out, when I messed up, when I thought I should have known better I would say to myself: “What is wrong with you?!” I didn’t like the way it made me feel. Usually no one else even noticed. It was just me, telling myself there was something wrong with me.
I decided to change my habit. I practiced catching myself. I changed my self-talk to: “There’s nothing wrong with you, Paula.” Followed by: “You can do better next time” or “Just remember to pay attention” or “You can’t always get it right and that’s okay.” Deep breath.
Turns out, whatever I thought was wrong with me was just me being human. It was me being my imperfect and flawed human self finding my way in the world. Growing, changing, struggling, trying again. There is nothing wrong about that.
It reminds me of this quote:
If you could erase all the mistakes of your past, you would also erase all the wisdom of your present. Remember the lesson, not the disappointment.
Author Unknown
Listen, there is nothing wrong with you. You make mistakes. You learn something. You carry a bit more wisdom with you as you go.
Nothing wrong here. Carry on.
Lighter,
Paula
