The Second Book The 63rd Chapter - Pay Attention to Your Compliments

Oct 1/17

Have you found yourself in a place where your unsure of the value of your work?  Or perhaps not sure of how to get out of a negative cycle of self-doubt you may have put yourself in?

Changing our negative personal habits is one of the hardest things to complete in our life.  Usually these habits are not adding value to our day and need to be replaced with something of value.  With the replacement of value than growth will have room in your life to take root and flourish.

One of my negative habits was the one of self-doubt and not sure of what others will think of what I have created.  I still will sometimes struggle with this negative thought process however now I am able to identify what I am doing with my thoughts, which results in me being able to change my mindset. 

I remember when I was stuck in this negative loop, I asked for help of how to escape my self-imposed purgatory.  This help for me came in a form of a visit to my counselor at the time.  I was going to counselling at the time as I was questions many things of my reality.  Things like how to parent as a single dad of two teenagers, work life balance and relationships.  Then in one session this topic came up on how can I build up my energy level to escape my negative cycle.  She asked me if I ever pay attention to people around me when I am given some positive recognition.

I paused for a moment and realized no, no I usually skip over anything positive sent my way.  She asked why I did that, I thought long and hard and I didn't have an answer at the time.  She then asked me if I pay attention to when someone criticizes my work and questions the value.  Without out any hesitation I knew the answer and said yes I do and from that point I will take that feedback and work harder.  As I relayed my answer to her I realized I just answered my own question.

That is the need for balance and to also recognize the positive feedback given to me as well.  In addition to look at where the negative feedback is coming from and ensure this feedback is in my alignment which will help me grow. 

In some cases I needed to change out some of my closest influences as the interaction was aiding me to remain in my negative cycle.  This is where my hard work now started, to slowly, one by one make choices for my next step that was in alignment for where I need to go in my life to live life.

Take comfort in knowing this hard work can change your life and you will feel positive results with the relentless pursuit of growing yourself.  These positive people in your life are there for a reason and learn from them.  But more importantly pay attention to your compliments as from them, this act of  added to your thought process, you will start to feel a change.