Yesterday a dear friend pointed out something to me. I had just made a self deprecating comment. She pulled me aside so as to not embarrass me in front of others and brought it to my attention. She is one of those close friends who knows some of my big struggles in life. In a nutshell she reminded me that, if I want to be taken seriously, I need to take myself seriously and especially stop saying negative/joking remarks about myself.
It was one of those light bulb moments. And to further drive home the point, I realized something that had happened in the midst. What I said was a bit negative. What she heard was exponentially worse. It made me really think. I could totally see myself saying what she thought she had heard. I have a tendency to make "jokes" in order to mask my times of self doubt. But what oft times happens is that I set myself up for failure. It could be failure in what I am doing or that I've already sewed seeds of negativity in the minds of those who are on the receiving end. The funny thing is that when I hear my wife or friends speaking similar words about themselves, I usually jump in and correct such actions. So why don't I do it for myself? Well from now on I will try to do better!
One other thing she told me was "Geev um!" which is Pidgin for try you best, go for it, don't give up! I like that! I told myself that as I was singing in church and in singing I reminded myself "'Geev um' (God) all of you."
I'm going to work on making that my new default setting. When I'm feeling nervous, unqualified, or uncertain of my abilities I'm gonna "geev um!"
And I'll do my best to seriously be "Seriously Jimmy."
