proud of you
This past week a friend of mine had to say “see you later” to her best friend that moved from the US to New Zealand. In a very emotional goodbye, her friend told her how proud she was of her and how far she has come, what she has accomplished, all the good stuff. My friend told us all about it and how good it felt to hear that. She also talked about how dumb it is that we wait to say things like that until a goodbye or something similar. Then she told the two of us on the text string she is proud of us.
Can you imagine my excitement when I realized what a fun thing this would be to do immediately? Why yes, of course I sent 5 voice texts that morning to tell people how proud I am to have gotten to watch them transform over the year(s) I have personally known them. It is such a gift to get to have people in your life that evolve into different versions of themselves over the years, notice those transformations and then TELL THEM about it! I feel fortunate I get to do things like that on a daily and weekly basis. I love recognizing this for other people because we so often can’t recognize it ourselves.
This got me to thinking about 2025. I typically pick 1 thing to do every day for a year. One year I walked a mile a day. One year I wrote a thank you card every day. In 2024 I am consuming zero alcohol for the year. I am slowly figuring out what it would be like to tell someone every day that they are awesome. Or to tell someone how proud I am of them. Or some variation of this. My enthusiasm to encourage people is turning into a competition with my old self. How can I do it better. How can I be more supportive to the folks I know. How can I give someone a boost that will get them to their next goal or perhaps just get them through their day. What does it look like to do something like this daily. What rules do I make up to go along with this. I love December and the things that start coming up that I want to accomplish the next year.
If you read this, use today to send a friend in your life a voice text to tell them you are proud of them for whatever reason. Make someone’s day great. Don’t wait too long to tell them.
