No See Ums But You Can Feel Ums

Imagine having big welts on your leg but you never saw anything bite you?
 
Welcome to the world of No-See-Ums. Here are some internet descriptions:

• These no-see-ums are smaller than fleas and have a supreme itch.
• Biting midges, or “no-see-ums,” are winged insects from the Ceratopogonidae family, which includes over 4,000 species. They are tiny gnat-like insects (only 1-3 mm long) and, like black flies, inflict painful bites.
• Included in these 'bad names' (I'm only including the 'clean' nicknames here) are: Ceratopogonidae or biting midges, flying teeth, small flies, midges,midge flies punkies, sand gnat, sand fleas, granny nipper and chitra.

Lovely, yes? Welcome to Maine and bugs.
 
I’ve noticed another No-See-Um that afflicts business owners and professionals. We “No-See-Um” our accomplishments or progress.
 
We are much more proficient at noticing what we didn’t accomplish, what’s missing, what hasn’t gotten done, where someone might have been critical of us, or anything else in the negative arena. We-See-Ums!
 
By stepping over what we’re accomplishing, we negatively impact our feelings of success and connection with others. We feel worse basically.
 
A lot of this is family and cultural conditioning. We are trained to notice what is wrong, what is missing and internal conversations of shoulds and self judgement. A lot of us think we won't be motivated if we don't criticize ourselves. Not true!
 
You can break this pattern but it takes practice.
 
One practice I use is to capture accomplishments as I go through the week and write them down. Otherwise, they disappear. No-See-Ums. Then at the end of the week I can see progress and appreciate my efforts and success.
 
Even better, share your accomplishments with others. The accomplishments will expand and you'll be able to appreciate yourself more.
 
Business owners don’t have a boss to tell them “Good job! Progress!” So it’s an important piece to put in for yourself. Try it and watch what happens to your energy and fulfillment.
 
Start to See Ums, and I promise you won't have painful welts to endure for a week!
 
If you'd like to connect, schedule some time here.