Nagging versus Musing

People can be so hard on themselves. Check this out. These are real emails that real people send to themselves on a regular schedule from 'Hassle Me'. www.hassleme.co.uk. The site's tagline is: Because sometimes in life, you just need to be nagged. It's a popular site – who among us haven't had similar thoughts?
The responses, though, are just me imagining what I'd like to say. Because sometimes in life, you just need to be mused.

"You're fat."(sent to theirself every day)
You know how when you tell someone they're cranky, they get cranky even if they weren't cranky to begin with? Think about that.

"Do something other than eat!" (sent to self every day)
Maybe "What can you do fun today?" would be more inspiring?

"Hit the gym, lardass!" (sent every day)
Name calling..yes, that's always a good motivator. I used to be you. I found another way. You can read about it and find your own way because I'm giving you this workbook as a gift: Happy Revelly After. www.musingsandmud.com/workbooks.html

"Work on The FREAKIN Novel!!!! You'll never publish if you don't write the damn thing. Stop procrastinating, idiot." (sent every 4 days)
Sunshine, just give yourself permission to spend 2 minutes writing today. Even your sabotaging self - the one that is so adept at coming up with anything and everything to keep you from writing your novel- won't be able to stop you. "Two minutes is ridiculous!" you say? Two minutes of writing isn't a threat .. it won't trigger fear of failure, fear of success, and all those questions like "Why would anyone want to read my book?" and "How can I get it published?" that distract you from actually writing.
And this technique gets even funnier: After the 2 minutes, cheer yourself on like you are an Olympic gold medallist. This works. It's called the Kaizen Way. You actually 'trick' yourself into wanting more of the success and less of the procrastination. Pretty soon showing up to the page will become easy.

"Your probably dead or doing something other than reading emails you sent to yourself when you were sixteen, but are you in shape yet?" (sent every 10 years) There's an amazing being in there that just wants to have purpose, play and passion in life.. find him. (And then, you'll also discover getting in shape will evolve naturally.) Okay, you can have the workbook too. Heck, you can have them all.

"WRITE DOWN WHERE I AM PARKED" (sent every 2 days)
What the…? The alarm button on my remote works for me.

"Get a new job. You deserve more than this hell hole." (sent every 5 days)
You bet you do! Try this stream of consciousness exercise: In one sitting, make a list of no less than 30 of your strengths. If that comes easy, write 20 more. You can get silly or make fun of me but keep writing. Notice what emerges towards the end. You'll find 'aha's' that trigger ideas towards a new career or new ways to build your resume. At the very least, you'll affirm that you really do 'deserve more than this.'

Inspired to send nagging notes to yourself? Hey, we've all been there. I invite you to write the nagging note, then take a step beyond. Ask yourself what would be a new, gentler, more creative way for me to move forward?