Recently I participated in a women’s expo. Vendors converged from far and wide to share their goods – cosmetics, perfumes, hair products, clothing, self-defense items, protein powders, energy bars, and anything else you can imagine that serve women. In addition, there were speakers and workshops and do-it-yourself instructional areas. And, I was there with my books.

I decided beforehand that I would focus on sharing information I felt could brighten someone’s day. So I spent both days standing in front of my booth passing out my Heal For Real!™ bookmarks. I offered a bookmark to the women (and the few men) who walked by. While handing it to them, I shared one message from the bookmark, a phrase at the very top of it – “I am my own greatest cheerleader.”

I reminded them that they are their own greatest cheerleader, so talk nicely to themselves, and be kind to themselves because they deserve it. It was fun to see so many beautiful faces light up when they accepted the bookmark. When I shared this idea with young girls, they beamed. For me it was a completely gratifying experience

It occurred to me that loving and cheering for people is easy because we are naturally loving beings. We thrive on encouragement and support, just as children do. Even though we soak it up like a sponge, we have learned to survive without healthy doses of encouragement and support. Why is that? Why do we ration self-encouragement like we are at war with ourselves?

It may be very challenging to be self-encouraging. Perhaps we didn’t receive it growing up, and we didn’t witness others’ self-encouragement because we typically nurture ourselves through inner dialogue.

At any rate, be open to the idea of self-encouragement. Now be willing live the idea by practicing it. It is always possible to turn over a new leaf. It is always possible to learn a new habit. And the time to start is right now.

You are your own greatest cheerleader, so talk nicely to yourself. Remember that your thoughts are like clouds in the sky.   They are always changing and moving. Give yourself a break about how you think. Acknowledge yourself. Tell yourself, “I hear you” and keep things moving. You will be on to the next thought before you know it anyway!

You are your own greatest cheerleader, so be kind to yourself. You would be kind to an innocent child, wouldn’t you? In what ways would you show kindness to a little one? Apply those same words and acts of kindness to yourself.

You are your own greatest cheerleader. Talk nicely to yourself and be kind to yourself because you deserve it. So often we believe we are not valuable because we experienced non-preferred situations while growing up. We believe that if we were good, those things wouldn’t have happened. But, we experience heartbreak in many forms to show us that we have the strength to recover from them and open our hearts even more. And that takes courage, which we learn by being encouraging.

Just today, be kind to yourself in some way and you will begin to lighten up. When you transform on the inside, you transform your world. We need your light. We need your gifts. We need you to be happy and encouraged!

Janet D. Thomas