Talk To Yourself

There is always a debate about whether daily affirmations
work - the kind of uplifting statements you repeat to
yourself in the mirror each morning.

I find a more effective way to improve your mood and self-
esteem is to create your own positive scripts for regular
re-reading and study. On those days when you're really down
on yourself and think that you're a failure, immersing
yourself in a book crammed with notes about your qualities
and accomplishments can restore your balance, brighten your
spirits, and re-energize you for the rigors of the job hunt.

Keep a notebook close by and jot down every little success
you've ever had. List your personal characteristics, work
and non-work successes, little things you've done that made
you feel proud. Record what other people have said to you as
compliments or in gratitude. Note any awards or trophies
you've ever won.

Describe your accomplishments, big and small: completing a
difficult class, learning how to bowl or play a decent round
of golf, teaching your teenager how to drive a stick shift,
losing that last 10 pounds. No one reaches adulthood without
a long string of successes along the way but we tend to
discount them because our emotions are engaged by our
failures, the "ones who got away."

Keep adding to your book of positives as you think of more
and more accomplishments (the list will grow, the more you
think about it). On the days when you think your value to
the world is zero, take out your book to remind yourself of
your own worth. The world is a better place due to all of
our collective efforts so give yourself an emotional pat on
the back.

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