five star review

Whenever I feel like I am in a slump, I try to find a book that will help inspire and motivate me to get back on track.  It’s a little bibliotherapy, which I have recently learned is a real thing! 

I am a big fan of  Jen Sincero, author of You are a Bada$$  and other motivating books.  This is just an example of the things she teaches:

“It is just as easy to believe we are awesome as it is to believe that we are giant sucking things.” She goes on to say that it takes up as much energy either way, so why do we always gravitate toward the negative?  What if we became our own biggest cheerleaders?  What if we operated from the same thoughts that our greatest fan has?  What would that look like?  How would that make us feel?  How would it change our behavior? 

As I was pondering this idea, I thought of the notion of leaving a review.  What if we wrote a review of ourselves from the perspective of our biggest fan?  What would that sound like?  We all have a fan—maybe it’s a child, a best friend, a parent, a special auntie or grandparent.  We all have that one person who thinks the world of us. 

I thought of that fan, and I wrote a 5-star review of myself from the perspective of that person.  I wrote and wrote until my hand hurt.  When I finished writing, I read it over and it brought tears to my eyes.  All the things I wrote from the perspective of the other person were things that I knew to be true about myself. I felt really proud and empowered by the words on the page.  All the things that I wrote about were things that I have done for myself yet hadn’t given myself credit for.  Yes!  I deserve that 5-star review! 

I don’t know about you, but somewhere along the way I learned that it is better to make myself small and invisible so that others are more comfortable.  I am learning, slowly but surely, that I am allowed to take up as much space in this world as I need or want.  I am allowed to think good thoughts about myself.  It doesn’t mean that I am bragging or that I think that I am all that. It just means that I know my worth.  Operating from that place of power is going to help me get to the next level—the next best version of myself. 
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I challenge you to write a 5 star review of yourself right now! If you can’t think of your biggest fan right off the top of your head, just make one up.  Go find your journal, set your timer for 10 minutes, and get to writing.  When you are done, read over it.  Then read over it again.  Let the words sink in.  How do they make you feel?  Bookmark that page and come back to it whenever you need a little pick-me-up.  Read them until you completely believe them about yourself. 
You are way more amazing than you give yourself credit for.  Own it, and notice the way it changes your life.  💙