Consider this kind and helpful advice from the wonderful artist, James Whistler:

“Hang on the walls of your mind the memory of your successes. Take
counsel of your strength, not your weakness. Think of the good jobs
you have done. Think of the times when you rose above your average
level of performance and carried out an idea or a dream or a desire
for which you had deeply longed. Hang these pictures on the walls of
your mind and look at them as you travel the roadway of life.”

“Good job!” — that’s often what we hear moms and dads say to their kids when they accomplish something worthy of note. While these words are sometimes overused, they still have an uplifting ring about them, don’t they?

And yet, and yet … do we ever say them to ourselves when we do something praiseworthy — something that we found hard, but stuck with until we finished it? Or a tough problem that we solved in a way that made us smile and feel good about what we did?

Not always, I hear some of us saying. Not enough, I hear others whisper. Never, I hear too many of us murmur. Why not take Whistler’s advice instead and give ourselves some love?

“Hang on the walls of your mind the memory of your successes” — what a great image! Why not take time once in a while to remember your triumphs, large and small. Dwell on them for a while and the feelings they sparked inside you?

“Take counsel of your strength, not your weakness.” Why not call on your strengths, your inner resources — your resiliency and drive — when you hit a rough spot, instead of “taking counsel” of your weakness?

“Think of the times … you carried out an idea or a dream or a desire for which you had deeply longed.” We all have moments of true joy and completion — moments where we feel we surpassed ourselves and rose above what we thought we were capable of doing. Why not relive them and let them lend you their strength and satisfaction?

I love the idea of creating a gallery of triumphs for ourselves — don’t you as we “travel the roadway of life” — don’t you? It’s so energizing and motivating! Let’s create one for ourselves as we all write on!