Posts Tagged: respecting myself

On March 9, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

DTEB, “Self-Respect”

Years ago, my long-term sponsor encouraged me to do and live out daily affirmations.  It has been, quite literally, a life-changing experience.  Here is my 12-step report to my sponsors for today, and my tentative report for tomorrow:

Dear _________ and _____________,

No violations.

Yesterday’s affirmation: “Today, by God’s grace, I am respecting myself, God, others, all living creatures, and even inanimate objects.  The word (and song) for today is “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.”

Here is how I think I did with yesterday’s affirmation: I was respectful to myself, God, and others today, for the most part.  One thing that I can certainly improve on is thinking (and consequently, speaking) of myself in a more respectful way.  My wife pointed out to me yesterday (for the how-many-th time??) that she doesn’t like it when I speak of myself in a put-down-ish manner.

Today’s affirmation: Today, by God’s grace, I am carefully monitoring my thinking and speaking to and about myself.  I am thinking positive thoughts about myself, and I am speaking about myself as little as possible.  But if I do say something about myself, it is kind.”

I have begun the practice of writing my report for the next day, right after I send the report for the present day.  This enables me to think about and plan for the outcomes of my affirmation.  I can always revise the draft the next morning, based on what really happened.  So, here is my tentative report for tomorrow:

“Here is how I did:

  • I did monitor my thinking and actions, based on this affirmation.  I committed the affirmation to memory, and frequently repeated it (out loud when I was alone, and mentally when I was with other people).
  • When I was inclined to say something negative about myself, I did the Bob Newhart thing, and said, “Stop it!”
  • I made the decision to listen more to others, and to talk less about myself.  It was great fun!  (And I learned a lot more about others, and gave them the invitation to feel respected by my genuine interest in them.)
  • I thanked God in my daily gratitude list for 10 good things about myself.”

Here is one thing that I did not include in the rough draft of my report to my sponsors.  I will add it.

  • At church, I went to the altar, prayed, and emptied myself of everything.  I feel light enough today to float away.  I know that a breakthrough has to be fleshed out with lots of follow-throughs, and I am determined that, by God’s grace, I will do precisely that.  I will empty myself of my past, my regrets, my sins (real and imagined), and myself, as often as I need to do so.  Then, I will pray that God will continually fill me with his Holy Spirit and with all goodness.
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