Week 31: You are great, so embrace that feeling
It's been seven months of taking action to be sustainable and a better person for our planet and community. That's a HUGE accomplishment! However, it can be easy to get caught up in personal pressure to constantly improve and forget to appreciate ourselves. This week, let's take a moment to focus on our wellbeing and show ourselves some positivity.
Take action
Make a list of ALL your strengths.
It may seem simple, but it can be difficult to acknowledge the good things about ourselves. If you're struggling, don't overthink it - just write down whatever comes to mind. The first time I tried to write down my strengths, I only came up with two and I felt discouraged because I knew I had much more. I was putting too much pressure on myself, so I decided to approach the task more casually. Now, I carry around a list of all the great things about myself - like being brave, organised, independent, and ambitious - that I can refer back to whenever I need a confidence boost. It's amazing how much easier it is to appreciate your own strengths when you're not overthinking.
Tips for writing and maintaining your list:
Write the list in a note on your phone so you’ve always got it on you – whenever you're feeling a bit shit, stuck on a piece of work or being a negative Nancy, it really helps to look at your strengths and boost your confidence.
Keep adding to it – the first time around you'd have missed some important strengths off your list so when they do eventually pop into your head, add them to the list. We also develop new strengths all the time, so acknowledge them when you do and put them on your list.
Don’t forget about your list – I’ll be honest it’s been a while since I’ve looked and added anything to my list. If you think you’ll forget about it, maybe set a reminder once every two weeks or a month to look through your list, feel good and add any new strengths.
About Wordscape:
For many, August is one of the slower months of the year. Maybe you’re going on holiday, or just taking time off. Chances are you have colleagues that are – which might make your August a little more hectic. Here, we’re in planning for an upcoming issue of Ethos and have three big projects to finish this month, so we’re making the most of other people being around less.
It’s also the time of year that, inevitably, thoughts turn to new school terms, autumn and the run-in to Christmas. It’s a time for reflection and that’s what we’re doing for this month’s takeover of the Year of Action Campaign – resetting and reflecting.
We’re taking it in turns as a team and so you’ll be hearing from me (Andrew), Fiona, Eve and Em in turn across the month.
