Adventures in Self Esteem

My intern came into my office today and over the course of our conversation he mentioned that every night before he goes to bed he reminds himself of 5 reasons that either today was productive, or why he likes who he is. While this sounds, in theory like a healthy, self-motivating habit – considering his sometime overweening ego, maybe he should cut back to 7 things once a week.

ANYWAY –while he was explaining this practice and the motivations behind it he suggested that I take it up. I laughed it off and he said, “I’m serous, Red! I think it would be good for you. Find 5 things you like about yourself right now.” I laughed and replied “Intern, why don’t you find 5 positive things about me first”.

So he made the following list on my wipe board:
1) She doesn’t like John Kerry
2) She is genetically sound (Irish)
3) She has good taste in beverage & roommates (he has a crush on OC)
4) She has a nice raincoat
5) He’s still working on #5….

So thank you, Intern. I’m sure with that list of accolades I’m sure to win the self-esteem beauty pageant.

Sarcasm aside…maybe this isn’t such a bad idea. I find myself finding more fault with me than my mother usually (and let me tell you that takes some doing!). However, I think 5 is a bit excessive and could possibly lead to severe self-esteem inflation which is, frankly, not very attractive. So we’ll start small and try it for a week and see if it works. I think to temper this however I should add one thing that I want to change as well – just to keep it real.

So for Tuesday, the things I like about Red are:
1) Her hair (love the color – hell I’ve devoted a blog to it!)
2) Her ability to make people laugh with her quick, smart @ss remarks
3) Her fabulous taste in trendy, yet classic footwear

And let’s change: Her need to tell everyone exactly what she thinks exactly when she thinks it…being a little more tactful when propriety dictates.

Come on, people! What do you like about yourself – this is not the time to be modest!




Song obsession of the moment: “Taylor the latte boy” – Kristin Chenowith