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Do you know you're called to something greater than yourself, and yet you're not sure if you can do it? How many of you feel like someday you take one step forward and two steps back? Are you like me and find it easy to compliment others and hard to applaud yourself for accomplishments?

We are called to an incredible work, something that will leave a legacy for others. Our Heavenly Father is right there with us as our partner to make it happen on this journey.

Not only that, He's given us the most powerful asset to accomplish our part in this journey–our minds.

In the last post, we went into more detail on how powerful our mind is. If you missed it, click here to check it out.

Know this; everything starts with our mind.

We Think > We Feel > We Act > We Become

The first tool we added to our tool belt is Gratitudes. Gratitudes are a powerful tool that helps us focus on what's going right in our lives instead of dwelling on what's wrong. They change our perspective from the world is against us to the world is for us. Again, if you missed the last post, click here to catch up.

Today, let's talk about the second power-packed tool that will help us level up and do this thing God has called us to!

Tool #2 – Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments are being grateful for what you personally have done. It's acknowledging yourself for the forward movement that you have accomplished.

Most people find it easier to do the gratitude exercise than Acknowledgements because we tend to be harder on ourselves than others.

We saw we took two steps forward, and then we discount it because we took one step back. This thinking stifles our progress and demotivates us. We can never win this way.

When we acknowledge our forward movement, no matter how small (even if we took one step forward and two steps back), we encourage ourselves to do more.

Did you ever get gold stars when you were a kid? Man, I loved those things! They made me feel good, and I want to do better so I could get that acknowledgment. I still love it when people acknowledge what I've done.

You may not like being acknowledged by others. However, being recognized for our efforts is good for our souls. 

I don't know about you, but I've never motivated myself by bringing attention to everything I've done wrong. That kind of talk solidifies in my mind what a loser I am.  

We can see in Scripture that our Heavenly Father has the same philosophy about motivation.

Romans 8:1 NLT
So now, there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

If Father doesn't condemn us, who are we to condemn ourselves?

1 John 2:12 NKJV
I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake.

Again, we see that Father isn't looking at our blunders, so why are we still holding them over our heads?

So, let's acknowledge ourselves for our progress, shall we?

Guidelines to Create Acknowledgements:

Must be positive.
Celebrate any forward movement, no matter how small.
Structure your sentence like this: I acknowledge myself for…
Be specific
Acknowledge forward movement in both your personal and professional life.
Write at least five at a time.

Here are a couple of Acknowledgement examples:

Personal Life:

I acknowledge myself for walking today for 5 minutes.
I acknowledge myself for asking forgiveness when I blew up at my spouse.

Professional Life:

I acknowledge myself for breaking down my task list into smaller steps.
I acknowledge myself for going to that networking meeting even though I was terrified.

And, no adding, "but I should have…, or, "if only I had…" Acknowledge ANY FORWARD movement.

 You may find writing acknowledgments difficult at first. We're not used to complimenting ourselves.

If you're struggling because you feel it's wrong to compliment yourself, think of this.

Jesus said to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). That means if we don't love ourselves, we're not going to be able to love our neighbors the way Jesus intended.

You might struggle with acknowledgments like I did because you battle with low self-esteem. I get it.

 My self-esteem used to be so bad that I married the first guy who showed me any interest. That didn't end well. Through the years, I've grown to the point of having a healthy self-image. I see myself as Father sees me (most days), and because of this, acknowledgments become easier the more I do them. 

So, if your self-image is something that you're growing in, Acknowledgements will be just the right fuel for your self-esteem journey.

Also, I've listed below some previous blog posts on self-image that may help.

 I recommend making Gratitudes and especially Acknowledgments a part of your morning routine.

You could do them before bed if you prefer. What a fabulous way to end the evening! You would be filling your subconscious with the blessings and accomplishments of the day.

As you perform these powerful mindset tools, you will find that your perspective changes. You will notice more that is going right in your life and more that you're doing right. 

We attract what we're focusing on most often. So, you'll also create more blessings and accomplish more in life because of implementing Gratitudes and Acknowledgments.

Discussion

Do you find that Acknowledgements are hard for you to write or easy? Share why you think that is.

Resources

Books:

Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking by Dr. Caroline Leaf

Blog Posts:

Two Simple Power-Packed Mindset Tools To Level Up Your Personal And Professional Growth Strategy Part 1 

Podcast-Blog

Two Simple Power-Packed Mindset Tools To Level Up Your Personal And Professional Growth Strategy Part 2