Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Erase Those Tapes!


There are times we get caught up in repetition.  Sometimes it’s a good thing.  Running.  Exercise.  Taking a vitamin.  Saying, “I love you!” to those who are meaningful in our lives.  All good things and worthy of repetition.

There are other times when the cycle of repetition needs to be broken.  “I’m not good enough.”  “I’m fat.”  “I can’t do it.”  “I’m not good-looking.”  “I’ll never be . . .” and on and on and . . .

We all have those things we say to ourselves.  It seems we push play and repeat.  And, we do it without thinking.  It becomes so easy.  Too easy.

Even worse, we’re reminded every day, multiple times a day, again and again until the message is drummed into us and we adopt that message as our own.

Sad, really.

We need this hairstyle.  That car.  Whiter teeth.  Hair too thin?  Need a closer shave?  Gaining too much weight?  This color, that color.  Take a cruise!  Go on vacation.

Yes, why don’t we go on vacation . . . from the endless repetition of those tapes. 

Maybe, Erase Those Tapes!

In the immortal and very wise words of Christopher Robin to Winnie The Pooh: “You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.”

Now, that’s a tape worth repeating.  Push that play button and go on and repeat it over and over and over again.

I think we all need a Christopher Robin in our lives.  (Probably a Winnie The Pooh, too.)  We need someone in our life that points out that we are good enough.  That we’re okay.  That while there is always room for improvement, you know, we are pretty darn good just the way we are.

I had a friend, a colleague and workmate in California who I had overheard telling another coworker, “That’s okay!  You’re his ten!”  She was right back then, and she is right even now.

You see, we’re so much harder on ourselves than perhaps others are.  We beat ourselves up over mistakes.  It doesn’t matter if the mistake is small or big.  We beat ourselves up until we’re bruised and bloody.  But the reality is, each of us . . . every one of us . . . is somebody’s ten.

Yes, each of us.  A ten.

Maybe it’s time to Erase Those Tapes once and for all.  For our own good.  For the good of those around us.  Maybe it’s time for us to be the Christopher Robin to those around us, especially children.  Maybe it’s time to help them Erase Those Tapes before the tapes become too repetitious and before they become all too easy to push play and repeat.  We owe it to ourselves.  We owe it to each other.  We owe it to our children.  We really do.  Honest!  Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

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Thank you for your comment. I welcome your thought. Joe