Be Your Own Ta-Da Cheerleader

Be Your Own Ta-Da Cheerleader

My nephew is 2 and ½ and potty training. I don’t know much about how to potty train a kid, but I do know this: Every time he uses his cute little Elmo potty, he stands up when he’s done and exclaims, “Ta-Da!” and we all clap and congratulate him as if he’s just completed a marathon. Because of this, he has quickly learned that using the “big boy toilet” equals praise. This praise helps him do his deed with his head held high full of confidence. He is self aware, proud, and learning how to do something brand new BECAUSE of this encouragement. Let me take this moment to remind you that we are talking about a simple bodily act that we all do every single day without thinking twice. We congratulate children for these small steps because we don’t see them as small steps when they are done for the first time. We see them as huge accomplishments, major life moments that mark milestones of growing up.

My question is this: At what age did we stop congratulating ourselves for the small steps?

I see it everyday in class. People accomplish a pose they couldn’t do a week ago or even a year ago, and they downplay how BIG a deal this seemingly small step is. It’s huge! You are balancing your entire body on your own two arms! You can finally touch the ground with your hands when you never thought you’d reach past your knees! You made it through an entire hour of yoga without thinking of your to-do lists! Or even this one – You made the conscious choice to come to class today instead of skipping out! These are absolute accomplishments.

What if we treated our small moments like ta-da moments? Maybe we don’t have our own team of cheerleaders by our side, but is it possible we can become our own cheerleader? What would happen if we turned that inner voice into a positive, loud, fist-pumping, you-did-it kind of voice?

As we closed the chapter on this summer’s yoga challenge, more than half of you finished your challenge. Of that most of you exceeded your own goal. Many of you got really close, and every single one of you tried. Celebrate this. Celebrate the effort. Celebrate the intention. Celebrate the small steps. Remind yourself that it is these small steps that stack up into major goals.

In celebration of you,

Megan