Bernie Michalik's posterous site

Self-pity, feeling sorry for yourself, is a state that is universally
scorned. Yet I would argue that we all fall into that state from time to
time. Tonight, for instance, I was felling that way, and I wondered why I
had fallen into that frame of mind. I concluded that there was a number of
causes and a number of ways to get past it.

Firstly, I was considering that the efforts that I was making were either
not appreciated or ignored. Even worse, some of the things that I was doing
was coming in for criticism. So lots od negative feedback and no positive
feedback. Second, I was physically and mentally bushed. That made my
efforts seem even more difficult and the fatigue made my assessment of
things worse.

To help het out of it, I think there is a few things you can do. First, get
some rest. That will go along way. Try to break the negative feedback cycle
too, even if it is just by getting away for a little bit. Third, look for
positive feedback. There's likely more of it than you realize. Fourth, try
to accenuate that positive feedback and downplay the negative feedback.
Fifth, try and pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.

The fifth one is harder, but you have to basically ignore the negative
feedback, do things for your own reasons, and give youself positive
feedback for the things you do. All of these things will get you out of the
trough of self pity and back on the path of self esteem.

Best of luck to you!
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