Tag: #gratitude

Being Grateful with the Bronze Medal Mentality

Last week, I was listening to Mel Robbins’ podcast on the Olympics. One of the topic she touched on was the Bronze Medal Mentality. Based on studies, the bronze medalists were actually happier than the silver medalists. The reason is that the silver medalist would compare with the gold medalist – filled with regrets of all the what-ifs, as he/she had fallen short of obtaining the gold medal. This is especially acute if the difference between the gold and silver medal was by a few seconds or milliseconds!

The bronze medalist, on the other hand, is just thrilled to be on the podium, receiving a medal. Sometimes, this is a chance in a lifetime, for example, at the Olympic Games. Bringing back a medal for your country is such an honour. Standing there on the podium – that is truly a privilege, compared to those who did not make it to the podium.

The problem with most silver medalist is the comparison upwards with the gold medalist, and the subsequent regrets. That happens to most people – we compare our jobs or business, our cars or houses – and find that we fall short of other people who are better off than us, resulting in envy and jealousy. This is true even when we have so much in our lives already. This is most rampant in social media, where people show the highlights of their lives, e.g. their overseas vacation or grand birthday celebration, and we feel we are missing out on these things that we think we should have.

This Bronze Medal Mentality highlights the gratefulness I should have for the many blessings in my life, rather than comparing what others have that I don’t have. What I have IS more than enough. A medal signifies my achievement – how far I’ve come and how hard I’ve worked to get to where I am today. A bronze medal motivates me to reach for a higher level of achievement. There is more room for improvement and advancement. Always be grateful with what I have achieved and aim higher and bigger next time! I am reminding myself to celebrate all the small wins, yes, the bronze medals, and the major wins will come when I receive my gold medals in life!

Overcome Imposter Syndrome

I was listening to Mel Robbins interview with her daughter, Kendall, on the topic of imposter syndrome. Kendall is an upcoming singer/writer who attended her first music festival during a weekend and felt like an imposter at the backstage where she had an artist pass.

I can relate with her. When I first launched my journal on Nehemiah in 52 days on 6th November 2022, I hardly believe I could call myself an “journal author”. Then one year later in 2023, I published my journals in Amazon, and I still feel a little embarrassed to call myself an “international author”.

I realise that I am putting myself down. There is no doubt that it is an achievement to write two journals, publish and print them in Malaysia, and then publish them in Amazon Kindle in both digital and paperback versions.

Kendall mentioned the phrase – beat everyone to your inconvenient truth – be honest and vulnerable about her situation as a beginner in the music industry. So, the truth is that I only sold a handful of books. And my blog has only a handful of subscribers. In fact, I was very close to quitting this blog last year as I was writing so inconsistently and lacking motivation. This year, I have decided to write and post every Monday (yes, I am sweating now).

Kendall mentioned having the beginner mindset to overcome imposter syndrome. We are all here to learn and to share, that we can all learn from each other. She also flipped the switch and decided to be grateful to be where she was and to enjoy herself at this great opportunity to meet so many of her music idols at the music festival.

I am truly grateful for the opportunity to publish my own journals, and to write in my own blog. I am proud of what I have achieved. In fact, all of us should recognize and be very proud of our many achievements.

Question: What are the achievements you should be proud of and thank yourself for?

Are you connecting to your core values?

Connect to Core Values
Connect to Core Values

In the book Bittersweet by Susan Cain, she talked about accepting the bitter and losses in our lives, and how it can lead us to connect to our values and subsequently acting on those values.

I reflected upon it and listed the core values I believe is important to me at this season of my life:

  1. Courage – courage to do what God has called me to do, to trust in God’s plan for my life, and to be led by the power of the Holy Spirit
  2. Compassion – to reach out to others and inspire them to dream boldly, and more importantly, to have compassion on myself – to be kind and gentle to the little girl in me
  3. Creativity – to use my talents in bold unique ways to give glory to God – dare to dream big, be bold, go wild, run free, dance like no one is watching, and have lots of fun!
  4. Gratitude – to give thanks for the countless blessings in my life, including the trials that strengthen my character and driven me to be who I am today

I realise that I need to align my values with what I am doing in my life. That whatever project or work I embark on, it needs to align with my core values. And these values must be outward seeking, that is, it is to serve others and to give glory to God.

As we start the new year of 2024, I invite you to connect to your values and seek to live in alignment with your core values.

May this year 2024 be a wonderful year for you!

My Confident Hope in Jesus Never Fails

Nothing prepared me for the challenges I faced this year. I was sent into the wilderness and went through the refining fire. I thank God that He rescued me from the financial hole I dug myself into, and saved me. He showed His loving faithfulness in so many big and small ways during this challenging time.

It has been a year of inner healing working through my inner child trauma. I realised that I had acted so foolishly out of my fear and insecurity. I have emerged stronger and more confident, knowing that God always has my back – that He carries me through my storms and sits with me through my tears. Nothing is greater than God’s love for us. I have experienced it in so many ways this year.

As the year 2023 come to an end, I am truly grateful for the year that has seen me grow in hope in Jesus. I learnt that my confident hope is in the person of Jesus and my dire circumstances will never change it. He also showed the beauty within me and when I look at myself in the mirror.

One of the physical manifestation of my confidence is wearing my hatsI I don’t care what people think because I love wearing hats and I look good in them. So I am just gonna don my hat and adorn my countenance with a smile! God has great plan for each of us. I am reminded this year that, even when I mess up, God is always around to help me pick up the pieces and make things new and better.

My Confident Hope in Jesus never fails.

How to Nourish a Starved Soul

We nourish our bodies with nutritious food.
So I pondered: how do I nourish my starved soul?

Let me share my ways:
– Gratitude: give thanks for the many blessings in my life
– Kindness: being kind to myself, and not beat myself up when I fail
– Gentleness: be gentle and go easy on myself on hard days
– Forgiveness: forgive myself
– Experience pain and sorrow: to allow the emotions to overwhelm me in a safe space, and not bury them all the time; to cry, scream or shout or any other ways to let my emotions flow out safely
– Reading: to gain insight, learnings, and to enter into the world of the author
– Travel: to explore new places, food, cultures and environment
– Support: to seek support from family and friends who understands me, instead of carrying the burden by myself
– Authenticity: to have the courage to be vulnerable and to reveal my true self, good and bad
– Beauty: to recognize the beauty within my soul and treasure it
– Service: to reach out to serve others in need, to service in a community
– To Love: to love others unconditionally, no strings attached
– To Be Loved: to allow others to love me unconditionally, to allow them to enter into my inner world
– To know that – It’s okay not to be okay sometimes, that I haven’t gotten it all together in some seasons of my life, but it’s okay
– To Wait: to know that I sometimes need to wait for God’s timing for my life, that He is working in my life as I wait patiently for Him
– To Meditate or Practice Mindfulness: to quieten my busy mind and seek my inner strength within
– To Trust in God: for me, this is the most important one; to trust that God is always faithful to walk with me through my joys and sorrows, and that He is always with me through thick and thin

To tell you the truth: I don’t always do all these things above. When our bodies are starved, we can feel the hunger pangs. But when our souls are starved, we are sometimes not even aware of it. Let us always remind ourselves to nourish our souls lovingly.

Feel free to add to my list in the comments. I would love to find out more ways to nourish my soul. Thanks!