I had a great conversation with a friend, about a sad scenario I had at work. I shared how I have learned to be kinder to myself and not let others' opinions take over who I am and how I feel about myself.

Not too long ago, someone, I saw as a mentor made disparaging comments about my abilities. I felt bad for a little while. Then I quickly reminded myself of all the awesome things I've done in my career that proved that person wrong. Here are the simple ways I lift myself in these scenarios:

🗣Affirmations. I learned about affirmations as a teenager when I randomly picked up affirmations while booking Barnes & Noble. The book taught me how to speak kindly to myself. I later made my own list of affirmations. Ever since I say them to myself when feeling down.

💜Wall of love. I keep a wall of love for both my personal life and career. These are screenshots of messages and notes of the kind and loving words people have said about me. These instantly lift my mood.

🥇List of wins. I aim to keep a running list of all my professional accomplishments to remind myself of all the huge accomplishments I made at such a young age and through hardship. This keeps me motivated.