Congratulate yourself!

There are several quotes out there about being humble, not praising yourself, not showing off… on and on.  I just read one that said “Self praise is for losers.”  I couldn’t disagree with that more.

What if we run a whole mile and no one is around to say “Good job! You did it!”?  We must congratulate ourselves for it. Sort of like that whole “If a tree falls in the woods does it make a sound?” deal.

I grew up in a house where praise and the words “I’m so proud of you!” were very few and very, very far between.  When my son was born in October of 1993 I broke that cycle.  I didn’t care what little good thing he did…  I praised him for it and made sure he knew I was proud of him. I still do that to this day. It’s SO important to make sure that he knows how amazing I think he is. It’s important that his fiancé knows how amazing SHE is, too. I spread that pride around as much as I can so they have no doubt that I am proud of the people they are. It’s even more important that children grow up hearing those words or they will question everything they want to believe in.

Just like anyone else, I love praise. I love to be congratulated at the end of a tough WOD because I stuck with it and finished it.  I love when I get a fist bump or a high five or a “Good job, girl!” because I just worked my butt off to get through it. I love when my efforts are recognized because, lemme tell ya, it’s HARD to work hard. I LOVE praising other people. Making sure they know I saw their effort and they were amazing. Maybe they inspired me to keep going. Maybe as I was passing them on a run they said “Nice job, Elena” or I cheered them on.  Isn’t that what helps us? Isn’t that what makes us keep going? There’s no shame in it, there’s no rule book that says you can’t receive praise.

And there’s REALLY no rule book that says you shouldn’t praise yourself. Sunday morning was a great example of that for me  I did the WOD on Sunday morning at the gym and then met some fellow 13 Stripers for a 3 mile walk around a local nature trail.  After that walk was over we all said our good jobs and goodbyes and I got in my car, blasted the AC and said to myself ‘Girl, you just walked 3 miles AFTER doing a difficult WOD. Good for you!’ If I make a dinner at home that’s both healthy AND delicious (sometimes that doesn’t always happen! LOL) I will congratulate myself, even after my wife does, because I actually did something well. Trust me. I’ve made some pretty crappy dinners in the past but she always thanked me for the effort. HAHA!

Make sure you celebrate the little AND big victories, folks. Seriously. Even if you’re the only one celebrating them. They are SO important for our well being. We need that praise, we thrive on it and that’s totally ok. Just like we can’t live from only water for nourishment, we can’t live without a pat on the back either from ourselves or others.

What did you do today that made you proud of yourself?  Did you get up and go to work even though you really didn’t want to? Did you choose a healthier breakfast instead of the donut you REALLY wanted to eat? Did you get your children down for naps all at the same time so you can enjoy a good book for a few hours? Did you stick to your grocery list (LITERALLY THE HARDEST THING TO DO!!) at the store?  Did you go to the gym today? Did you JOIN the gym today?

Tell me. What are you proud of yourself for? Don’t be shy! I want to hear from you!

And.. as always.. my fist bump and I will be waiting for you at the Box!

#fromcouchtofitness #mystandardsmyway #praiseyoself #13stripesfitness #gamechanger