Zen and the Pep Talk

Last week was an up/down sort of week. Hospital weeks always flatten me. Weirdly, the flattening extends beyond medical ugh into all kinds of other ugh.  Staying afloat pretty much becomes the goal of each day.

In that vein, I procrastinated about going to the supermarket until we were out of too many things, and my secret stash of kettle corn was threatened by the hungry horde. 

The store was unusually NOT crowded when I went, huzzah! As I loaded my things onto the conveyor to check out, I realized my cashier was one of the special needs adults who works at our store.

The local ShopRite in my town is one of the most inclusive employers I have ever seen. Kudos to them for the support they give to folks of all kinds. 

Anyway, the young woman checking out my stuff was obviously new in this role—she has helped me bag before, so I knew her a little. As she slid each item across the sensor, she oozed confidence. 

“I am doing such a great job!” she announced, about halfway through. She smiled. I smiled. How could I not smile?

A few minutes later, when an organic apple boggled the sensor for a minute, she added, “I’m not scared. There is a lot of stuff to remember, but I can do it.”

 Not only could she do it—she was DOING IT. Doing the thing…

I carried this moment with me,  and over the past week I kept thinking about my young cashier and her positive attitude, her pep talks to herself. Everytime I thought about her, I smiled.

She radiated cheerful positivity, and my day improved just by being in proximity to her pep talk.

This has been a week or two where I could use a self-pep talk, even just a simple, “I am doing a great job” in the little moments where I am, instead of wallowing in the “I am horrible at everythingggggggggggg”  that echoes in my brain in the down moments. So maybe my bathroom grout is near tragic in its biohazardness. Maybe the pile of books I am supposed to read is now about 20 high and I know I have to admit I won’t get to most of them—but I can pep talk my way through one book, one grout wipe down at a time.

A simple pep talk--there is always something to cheer

A little pep talk goes a long way to reframing a moment from ugh to positive. A pep talk acknowledges the hard, but encourages us to push through.  Even if I AM scared about something, even if I don’t have that young woman’s grit in a moment, I can do it.  Or I can tell myself I’m not scared. Scared is a state of mind, and I am not choosing to waste it on something like a to-do list of grout and reading.

I do self-pep-talk sometimes, but my ShopRite moment reminded me that I should up my pep talk game. I don’t have a cheerleader in the house to remind me “keep it up! Keep it up! Keep that momma spirit up! Keep! It! Up! WOO!”

…ok, lies, I actually do have a cheerleader in the house, but she only cheers at school, at home she is 100% teen.  And cheerleaders "don't say "woo!" mom, except in that ONE CHEER." Just so you know.

We need to cheer ourselves on! A little self-pep is a step towards zen. 

So maybe it’s “I am doing a great job!”…or “I got this”…or “Keep on Swimming!”…or “I can do this!”. Pep talks are like mantras, I guess, but really more self-encouragement as opposed to an aid to focus/motivate. 

There is always, ALWAYS something we can pep talk ourselves for. Always.

So give yourself a pep talk. YOU CAN DO IT! And you know what? You ARE doing a great job. 

Below I have included a helpful visual aid so you can give yourself a pep talk RIGHT NOW! 

Everyone loves a good word bank. 

You CAN do it! Woo!

p.s. my kettle corn stash remains safe. I know you were probably concerned about that.