Be proud of the little things

Hello :) I hope you are all well and enjoying the sunshine? On a Dyspraxia Facebook group the other day, there was a discussion on the importance of feeling proud of yourself for overcoming and achieving the little things.

Now the little things could be anything and once you break down the big things into more manageable chunks they can seem a lot less overwhelming. For a lot of people with dyspraxia/dyslexia one of the biggest struggles is self esteem and confidence which can be crippling and lead to anxiety and depression. But also I know so many non neurodiverse people who have the same struggles, we can be the first to beat outselves up, put ourselves down and focus on what we have done wrong. It can be very dificult to get out of that negative spiral way of thinking, it can almost feel like there is no escape and feel guilty for these. I was recently discussing this with my councillor and she was saying that if we are proud of the little things we can achieve it can give us the confidence to take the next steps and the next piece in the jigsaw.

It's really important to remember that these little steps are individual to the person, we all find different things more challenging or easier, we all have different things which we feel more confident or less confident in. What one person might find really easy another might find really hard. Never belitle someone for taking a long time to overcome something which took you a shorter time. Sometimes we have to put ourselves in other people's shoes we may not fully understand the battles they are facing but we can all offer compassion and kindness.
Sometimes we can feel like others are worse off than us and so belittle our own achivements. Everyone faces different battles- don't comapare yourself to others. I think if schools adapted these appraoches from a very young age it would have such a positive impact into adulthood and on confidence and selfesteem.

Here is a small list of some of the things which I am proud of doing recently (I don't find it easy to think positively about myself so there's a one already.) Sometimes writing things down maybe in a special book or whiteboard or on a piece of paper and put somewhere where you can see it can help remember when you feel down or aren't having a good day the little positive things which you are able to do. I am proud of myself for:

•  Writing this blog and saying positive things about myself 
• Dealing with changes in routine 
• Dealing with very hot and sensory tubes all week (bleugh) 
• Directing myself and a friend around London a few weekends ago and not getting us lost. 
• Being able to stay in my seat at summertime ball without having an anxiety attack/sensory overload 
• Having my article published in BDA conatct magazine 
• Rasing money for Mollie King's birthday fundraiser. 
• Overcoming shyness/anxiety to talk to new people in a new environment 

 Now what are YOU proud of? Have a lovely weekend whatever your plans are :) Smile :)