“I believe in pink. I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and … I believe in miracles.” —Audrey Hepburn
I have always loved this time of year. As someone who has had her own share of life’s unfairness, I marvel that in early spring we celebrate what we hope and pray for in our own lives: miracles.
This Time of Year is Full of Promise
Yes, this is the season of miracles. How else can you categorize the wonder of someone dying and then rising from the dead as we do on Easter, celebrated this Sunday? Or of a people being saved, as commemorated this Friday with the beginning of the one-week celebration of Passover? These important religious holidays celebrate hope and promise.
Recognize Your Resilience
Certainly, with these examples of the triumph of life over adversity in history, you can allow yourself to remember and celebrate your own personal resilience. How you have survived—perhaps even triumphed over—some overwhelming odds?
How many of you have had a:
- painful childhood filled with violence?
- divorce?
- job loss?
- terrifying challenge with your own children?
We have all experienced some of these events, plus many more. Well, you got through this somehow. I know I did. But how?
Take a moment to list a couple of the skills you developed under extreme stress. These skills are your resiliencies.
Do these skills include your:
- determination?
- focus?
- sense of humor?
These are some of mine, and I bet they are some of yours, too.
Create Your Own Miracle—For YOU
With all this positive energy around you, and with an understanding of your own resilience, why not use it to create your own miracle?
Let’s test what happens if you actively challenge one girly thought!
Take a moment to consider one way you:
- beat yourself down during the day
- misdirect your energy
- leave yourself feeling less than
- sabotage your own resilience through negative thinking
Now take that single, toxic girly thought and turn it around into a positive statement that celebrates your resilience. Make that hopeful statement your new mantra, and see how a small change in attitude can make a big change in your life.
In this season of miracles, you can make one happen for you! Try this out and let me know what you find.
You’ll find more ideas for getting rid of your negative self-talk in my latest book, The Girly Thoughts 10-Day Detox Plan: The Resilient Woman’s Guide to Saying NO to Negative Self-Talk and YES to Personal Power
Patricia A. O'Gorman, Ph.D., is a psychologist in private practice. She is noted for her work on women, trauma, and substance abuse and for her warm, inspiring, and amusing presentations that make complex issues accessible and even fun. She has served as a consultant to organizations across the country in preventative and clinical strategic planning. Dr. O'Gorman is a cofounder of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics, and she has held positions ranging from director of a rape crisis center to clinical director of a child welfare agency, and director of the division of prevention for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). She is a veteran of numerous television appearances, including Good Morning America, Today, and AM Sunday and is the author of eight books including: The Girly Thoughts 10 Day Detox Plan (2014), The Resilient Woman: Mastering the 7 Steps to Personal Power (2013), and Healing Trauma Through Self-Parenting (2012) 12 Steps to Self-Parenting.
