How to Use the Power of 3 for Self-Improvement

When was the last time you acknowledged yourself? I mea
REALLY acknowledged yourself…for being a great mom, an amazing problem-solver, a great love
or a top-notch project manager? (For the record, if you’re a mom, a spouse, have family you spend time with, not to mention a ‘job’…you ARE a top-notch project manager!)

Powerful communication starts with the self. Your Self. Do you look at yourself in the mirror each morning and start picking yourself apart? Are you still beating yourself up for something you forgot to do…or didn’t do as well as you thought you should? What kinds of things do you say to yourself in any given moment?

Often we spend more time berating ourselves for not being enough or doing enough, than for acknowledging our accomplishments. When we do this with ourselves, it often translates to how we communicate with other people in our lives. Our children, our spouses, our co-workers, and so on.

And yet, how do you feel when you receive some appreciation, acknowledgment or gratitude? It kind of makes everything worth the effort doesn’t it? Guess what. It all starts with you. Stop expecting everyone else to do your work for you. Show some appreciation and gratitude for yourself. You’ve earned it.

On New Year’s Eve this year I did a little exercise with some close girlfriends I’d like to share with you. We had all had a pretty rough last half of 2008, and were pretty rough on ourselves in the process. Instead of trying to sweep it all under the rug by only focusing on our goals and intentions for the “New Year” we took some time to honor ourselves for the year we had just come through. Here’s what we did:nnn • 3 Challenges I Overcamen • 3 Things I Acknowledge Myself Fo
• 3 Things I Forgive Myself Fo
• 3 Things I’m Grateful For (especially in challenging times)
• 3 People I’m Grateful For (and why!)
• 3 Ways I’m Going to Be Gentler with Myself in 2009

It was so powerful, I’ve decided to add it to my annual New Year’s Eve activities…and THEN set my intentions for the next year. (I may even do this on a monthly basis just to remind myself how fabulous I am!)

I invite you to take a few minutes to acknowledge yourself for the fires that you’ve walked through in the last year, and to be gentler with yourself in the challenges yet to come. Life will always be full of challenges, in any year. It’s your relationship with yourself in the process that can give you perspective, strength and grace. nn(c) 2009 All Rights Reserved Jenn Kaye Touch with Intention™, LLC & Head-On Communications International