Catch Yourself Being Good

[Gabe]

One of the best pieces of advice I was given when my children were small was, "catch them being good." We are forever catching our kids being bad, but seldom mention it when they are being good. The advice was basically to notice when they are doing something good (playing quietly, doing something helpful, etc.) and make as much mention of that as we do when we catch them being bad.
This came up in conversation today and it ocurred to me that we need to do the same thing for ourselves. Many of us tend to focus on our flaws and shortcomings and don't take as much time to praise ourselves when we do something good.
So, while it may be hard to quiet your inner critic...
Remember to catch yourself being good.

[Evanna]

I like this post very much. You taught me something useful there. Thank-you.

[Grimnar]

That is something I am working on.

I think it will help my self-esteem.

Thanks for posting that Gabe.

[Don W]

Thanks Gabe, I took a management course awhile back. That was a point the woman made. Catch employees doing thing right. Being a new supervisor, I adopted it right away. This has made for a great respect between myself and those that work for me.
Funny, having you talk about it with kids, I can see how putting it to work at home would help. Many times my wife and I will get caught up in pointing out the wrong things. I am working on being more verbal in our relationship. This becomes an issue because I think something and expect her to know. This will be a good thing to add to my other ideas to improve. And it it will help my self-esteem, by changing another bad behavior. Don W

[nodope]

Thank you Gabe. I've found this to be helpful also.

Now I keep catching myself all day being good!

[Don W]

Hey, Keeping an eye on myself and the good I do really helps tip the scale in my perception in my favor. Don W