About to Get My Cheer On

I should be reporting back to you about the book I read, but life and scheduling hasn’t allowed me to finish it yet. Not to worry, ‘twill be done by Friday.

Over the past few days I came to the realization that sometimes you have to make lists, sometimes you have to talk out loud, and sometimes you have to encourage yourself. During this spell of motivational lack that I’ve been living in, I’d lost all faith and confidence in myself. I was beginning to think that I was a worthless being lacking all focus and hope for accomplishment. Then I made a list of all the irons I have in the fire and even though it wasn’t too shabby I still found a way to talk myself out of the good I have coming on the horizon.

I saw a friend last evening that I haven’t seen in a month so we had some catching up to do. I began to fill him in (talking out loud, of course) on my current goings ons, and his response was, “Wow, Jaz. You are really doing things…you’re doing good things. You are RIGHT where you need to be. That’s awesome.” And interestingly enough, as I spoke to him about these goings ons, *I* got excited! To hear all this stuff out loud was actually kind of impressive. Wait a minute -- *I* impressed myself!! OK…cue the smile on my face. I was instantly reminded of the list I’d made just not that long ago, and I thought to myself, “I’m not that far off base. I just lost some belief somewhere along the way, and I desperately need her back.”

Which brings me to encouraging yourself. I listened to the lyrics of a song that said, “Sometimes you gotta’ look in the mirror and tell yourself, ‘I can make it!’” I don’t play a professional sport, or even semi-pro for that matter, so I don’t have the luxury of a cheerleading squad pumping me up when I’m down in the bottom of the ninth. There are no rah-rahs and shaking pom-poms greeting me at the end of a rough day. There is no team. No one is inserting my name into some clever little cheer to give me a boost of confidence. I’ve got none of that. All I have is me. So I have learned that *I* have to be my own cheerleader. *I* have to encourage myself – even in the face of darkness, and even in the middle of the storm – I have to open my mouth and talk some sense into me. Remind myself of who I am…wave a finger at me in the mirror and emphatically say, “Girl, you got this.”

So that’s all you’re getting from me today. I’m on my way to take post in front of the mirror right now so that the cheering can begin. HINT: You should totally try it.

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.