I'm having a day.
Actually, I'm having a week. Maybe a month.
Maybe more.
I'm having the kind of day that feels like your kitchen smells when you accidentally burn popcorn in the microwave. Like really burn it. Like when the bag is actually black and smoking and you're effing up a storm while tossing it all in the trash. And then you realize if you don't actually throw it into the trash outside, it's going to continue to stink up your house for days. (And on top of that, it was your last bag of popcorn.)
I'm having that kind of day.
It started — at least this latest variation of "day" — when I watched this social experiment video yesterday morning. (Go ahead. Watch it. It's just 3 minutes. I'll wait here.)
The CliffsNotes version: A bunch of individuals were asked to rate their success on a scale of 1 to 10 and talk about how they feel about themselves. Then friends and family members of those individuals were also asked to rate their particular loved ones' success. (If you didn't watch, I bet you can guess how this went.)
What I want to know is how would you rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10?
Because even though many of us could guess how this experiment would go just from watching the first few seconds, just from hearing the gist of it, I think many of us still would rate ourselves lower than we should. Lower than we are. And lower than the people closest to us would rate us.
Oh, how I would love to feel like a 10 in my life. Or a 9.75. Or even an 8 most days.
But the truth is, it takes work to feel like I'm at the top of the scale. And on some days, like today, getting to 5 feels hard. And when getting to 5 feels hard, everything feels hard. Getting work done feels hard. Running errands feels hard. Heck, getting out of bed feels hard.
I have no easy answers for you, or for me. But I do know that my self-talk plays a major role in my day-to-day. The good days, and the not-so-good days. And I also know that a positive word from a friend can help shift stuff. It would be kind of awesome if we could all go through the type of experience those in the video did. Not really practical, but awesome.
Yesterday, in the midst of my messy mind stuff, I sent a friend who's also having a rough time right now a quick text image (credit for the quote/art, FYI, is unknown, so apologies to the originator).
It said this:
It's not a rating. But it's kind of like a rating. Because I meant it in the "you're so awesome I would give you a 10 every day if I could" way.
And on top of that, it made me laugh. And laughter, they say (whoever they are), is the best medicine. Tears help clean out an exhausted and depressed system. Laughter helps fill it back up with joy.
So for any of you out there having a day like I'm having a day, this image above is also for you. And for me. And for anyone who just happened to burn their popcorn today.
High-fives, awesomeness and 10s all around. May tomorrow be a better day.
(P.S. I have not read You Are a Badass, by Jen Sincero, as shown in the photo I took while in an airport bookstore recently, but I think perhaps I might.)