Who says that Resolutions have to be declared in the first week of January? Not me. I like time to mull over. I like time to ruminate and define.
New Year's Resolution #2? NO MORE DISCLAIMERS.
What's a Disclaimer, you ask?
"My house is such a mess, I didn't have time to clean." vs. "Come on in, I'm so glad came over!"
"I would have made homemade cookies but I ran out of sugar." vs. Dropping off the store-brought version without comment.
"You probably already have plans but do you want to . . ." vs. "I am going to the park at 2, do you want to come?"
"I wanted to get you the gray, but I couldn't find it so I had to buy the green." vs. Simply including the gift receipt.
"I didn't turn out as good as it should have, I had to rip out the seam 3 times." vs. Not pointing out the flaws.
Another side of the disclaimer: being negative after a compliment or trying to downplay something great about myself.
You want an example of that?
Friend: "Your hair looks great."
Me: "It's all smoke and mirrors. I am the worst at hairdos." (I mean, what if I just said "Thanks!" instead?)
As I've thought about it, a disclaimer essentially does two things: 1) highlights negatives about myself or 2) turns the situation/conversation back to me - when it shouldn't be.
So, no more disclaimers.
5 comments:
This is really really good. I like the last sentence the best.
I like it! It's something I needed to read today. I do the same thing.
We ALL do this. I love the simplicity. Good luck.
Wow. I never thought about this. I don't know how NOT to be self-deprecating. Perhaps I will steal this resolution. Its a great one!
I LOVE this! Couldn't be more true! And have you ever noticed it's all in your own head? If you don't say anything or make excuses, you're the only one beating yourself up about it while the rest of the world doesn't seem to notice :)
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