Praise Yourself & Celebrate Small Wins – Proud of Myself on a Tough Day!

[BloodMoon]

The past few weeks have been incredibly tough for me, with challenges beyond my control making some days feel almost unbearable. Today was one of those especially hard days.

Usually, I do two sessions every day of moderate movement and exercise in front of the TV, adding up to about 35 minutes each, which has been a big part of my recovery journey. When I first started, I could barely manage five minutes.

Today, I felt mentally too overwhelmed and exhausted with life to even try. But somehow, I chose to take a small step—just walking very slowly on the spot. That small step turned into 30 minutes of very gentle exercise. And at that moment, I realized something important: despite all the chaos and difficulty surrounding me, I showed up. I kept going. And that, above all else, is something truly worth celebrating.

I’m sharing this because I know so many people here struggle with being too hard on themselves—worried they haven’t made enough progress or haven’t followed their plans perfectly. But sometimes, just doing something, no matter how small, is a huge victory. You deserve to acknowledge and honour that strength within you.

 

[Diana-M]

@BloodMoon,
So sorry to hear you are going through hard times. I hope things get better soon! Very inspiring about just showing up. That is the victory right there. I, for one, appreciate you sharing this. It’s encouraging and gives hope. Your strength is such a good example.

 

[Cactusflower]

Sorry @BloodMoon ... I know you know it will get better, but sometimes we just have to rest and give that a chance to happen.

 

[sam908]

Dr. Abraham Low addressed this issue:

"Do things in part acts, and endorse yourself for each part act"
"Endorse for the effort, not only for the performance"

 

[garata]

That small step turned into 30 minutes of very gentle exercise.

Good on you Blood Moon! You took the tiniest piece of it and just did that. As a therapist, my philosophy is to help folks look for what IS working, often in the middle of the worst of times. There is always something. And that little thing can be anchored then amplified!

I hope the symptoms continue to improve.

 

[Joulegirl]

Sorry you are dealing with hard stuff @BloodMoon. Whenever I find myself in that place I remind myself it is temporary and to keep chugging along no matter how slow as well. I've been listening to the curable classes the past two weeks and one of the main ideas that come from the classes is the fact that we may not see progress right away with our symptoms, but that progress is still happening in our minds. The fact that you tried even when you felt like giving up shows that you are going strong!!

I just listened to a class regarding flare ups and the tms dr explained that when we have a flare up, almost all of us jump to negative thinking regarding the symptoms. She told us it is important to not beat yourself up about it and to not get discouraged. But because we are human, we all immediately feel that way and it is up to us to change that negative line of thinking when it comes into our mind. Sounds like you are doing exactly that!!

 

[BloodMoon]

Thank you, @Joulegirl, for your encouraging words. I appreciate them and you on these forums. Fortunately, I wasn't experiencing a flare in bodily symptoms, but my spirit was knocked by events enveloping me that I had no real control over, and when that happens it can make you feel like you really can't be bothered with doing stuff on your TMS 'journey'... Thankfully, though I have managed to not let too much of my normal routine slip. Even though I usually do over an hour's gentle to moderate exercise a day the 'victory' was sticking to doing some of that... I ended up doing half an hour, but even 5 minutes would still have been a 'triumph' (with no 'perfectionism' coming into it). I notice in your postings you show this kind of resilience, which will be serving you well (and is inspiring to others).