Love Yourself Even If You Suck

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Published by Rachelle Disbennett-Lee
Thursday, February 14, 2002
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I attended a presentation by Cheryl Richardson, the author of Take Time for Your Life and Life Makeovers. She said something I found very enlightening. Cheryl mentioned that when she started appearing on the Oprah show she was very nervous and she made a promise that she would love herself even if she sucked. In one of the tapings of the Oprah show, someone asked Cheryl a question and she literally froze and could not respond. Oprah picked up the conversation and moved right along. During a break, Cheryl said she looked at Oprah and said, "I love myself even when I suck." Oprah had no idea what she was talking about so Cheryl explained what she had promised herself and they both had a good laugh.

What made me think of this was getting all the "Days" collected for the book, 365 Days of Coaching. We are going all the way back to 1998 when I began writing them. And to tell you the truth they suck. Most are so bad I laugh to think that I put them out in the world. I am so glad that I didn't realize in the beginning how green I was and how bad the days were or I would never have continued.

Luckily, I had people around me who encouraged me and I gave myself the time it took to get better. Not that there isn't always room for improvement, but with practice we all get better. The problem is that we often quit what we are doing because we are not very good and we are not willing to give ourselves the time to get better. It takes time, practice, endurance, and tough skin to keep going. Hanging on when we look pretty bad is an art and one that only comes from having the desire and inner fortitude to continue.

Coaching

We have to do things badly before we can get any better at it. This takes letting go of ego. We have to be willing to look foolish and make mistakes. Anyone who is any good at anything will tell you they didn't start that way. It took time, sometimes years, to become good at something. Those that are great have even spent more time, sometimes life times, perfecting their talent. Moving past the beginner stage means we have to live with not doing well for a while. The good news is if we stick with it, we will get better.

Are you willing to do something badly for a while so you can do it better later?

Daily Success Formula

Doing something badly at first = The first step toward improvement

Quotes

"Everyday, and in every way, I am getting better and better." Emile Coue

"I'm good enough. I'm smart enough, and dog gone it, people like me." Saturday Night Live Guy