I admit it... I may have faked you out in the blog post title! :)
Some of you were expecting me to blog about politics today with that reference to voting?
No. It's best not to tempt me into opening that Pandora's box. :) Once I get talking about politics, it would be hard to get me talking/writing about anything else. It would probably be best for me to stick to keeping the focus on health blogging.
So that wasn't what I was referring to in the blog post title. That was just a shameless attempt to get your attention.
When I asked for readers to vote, I wasn't referring to the upcoming (
and very important) elections on November 4th. As crucially important as those elections are, I try not to blog about politics here because my blog would quickly transform from a health blog into a politics-only blog. There is nothing wrong with a political blog! That's just not my intent with this blog... :)
My request for you to vote is for something far less trivial than the upcoming Presidential Election (which I have been restraining myself from blogging about)! :)
Before we talk about the voting... I just wanted to put this week's posts into perspective since, in general, they are a bit of departure from my typical blog posts.
As I mentioned in yesterday's post on
Tell-A-Friend,
I am trying to lighten things up a bit this week after last week's fairly intense blogging about interstitial awareness week, endometriosis, and infertility awareness. So this post will be a bit "out of character" (as compared with other posts on this blog as a whole) but a little variety now and then can be a good thing. :)
Writing this post about
self-esteem has prompted me to ask a favor of readers
that I normally wouldn't be likely to ask!! Honestly, I feel a little funny asking but it's the best way to get feedback from people about this blog...
So... before I proceed with this "self-esteem" post, I'd like to ask readers who find this blog useful to consider voting for it! If you find this blog informative or helpful, would you please consider clicking on the "Blogger's Choice Awards: Top Health Blogger" graphic in the right sidebar of this blog... to vote for it and maybe even add a comment about it?
I work really hard on my blog but I am
NOT very good at "self-promotion"! So following the lead of some bloggers who I really respect (and because it's just a
nomination and not an actual award -- unless the blog should get picked at some future date based on votes/comments from blog readers), last week I followed the directions on the
"Blogger's Choice Awards '09" site...
If you look at
"Blogger's Choice Awards '09", it says "
click here to nominate your blog or your favorite blogs & let the world decide". So I did something that seemed really unnatural to me and took the option to nominate my own blog. This felt very
odd to me... but I had seen many of my fellow health bloggers do this and decided to follow their lead.
I'm learning that my lack of self-promotion skills is not a strength for blogging... The better I get the word out about my blog, the more people will read it. The more people read it, the more people (hopefully) will be helped by it. If they like it, the more likely they may generate some word of mouth that attracts more readers here. I know all of this intellectually... but it still feels strange to me to ask for votes. I'm working on it this internal struggle...
So if you like this blog and don't mind taking just a moment to
vote for it and/or
add a comment on
"Blogger's Choice Awards '09" about it, I would greatly appreciate it!!
If I don't ask, most people will probably just pass right by that graphic by and not even realize that voting on my blog is an option at all.
Please click here to vote and/or comment on this blog:"Blogger's Choice Awards '09"On that note, I'm going to proceed to write about a post I just read by Maureen, a chronically ill blogger, over at
Being Chronically Ill Is A Pill.
Her post essentially has to do with
SELF-ESTEEM and not being afraid of knowing our own strengths! It's amazing how hard it can be to identify our own strengths when we're not used to exercising those "mental muscles"!
Chronic illness can severely damage self-esteem!
Losing ability to work outside the home, to do basic household chores, or to be "self-sufficient" are just some possible examples of ways that chronic illness can wear away at self-esteem...
Maureen had gotten the idea for her post "A Great Idea From
Warning: Schematically Incorrect" from that blog's post called "
15 Things I Like About Me - Raise Your Self-Esteem!"
NOTE: Here's a word of caution before you click the link to that site...
Before you click on the following link, I just want to make you aware that my "McAfee SiteAdvisor" software displayed a warning message when I pulled up the site that read "When we tested this site, we found downloads that some people consider adware, spyware, potentially unwanted programs". I had the option to 'allow' or 'block'. So, if your virus protection is not updated, you might want to skip the following link (and instead just refer to Maureen's site that prompted me to write this post)...
Now that we have that out of the way... Here is the blog post and site Maureen was inspired by for her self-esteem article. (My anti-virus software is brand new so I was able to just select "block" and then still see the blog post here):
Warning: Schematically Incorrect.
Following Maureen's lead, I will now list "15 things I like about myself":(1) I like to help others and seem to be pretty effective at doing so.
(2) I can take a negative situation (being very ill) and turn it into a positive (i.e. starting a local support group and blogging about my many illnesses to inform fellow patients and their families).
(3) I'm honest and ethical.
(4) I am getting better at practicing self-care and I recognize when I slip back into the "Type A personality" ways that contributed to me getting as sick as I am! I openly share the mistakes I made when I was younger (i.e. overdoing to the point of worsening my symptoms!) in the hope that it will help others bypass some of the pitfalls I've fallen into!!
(5) I'm smart enough to ask for help when I need it!
(6) I'm really resourceful and when I discover resources that may help others I share my findings as widely as I possibly can!
(7) I make a concentrated effort to compliment others on their strengths and/or when I notice them helping others.
(8) I recycle, reduce, and reuse. I try to avoid using plastic bags because I understand they are manufactured using petroleum products (and gas prices are high enough)! Plastic bags also don't biodegrade like paper does. However, I try to also avoid paper bags to save trees. I either buy what I can carry (in small trips to stores) or use bags that are durable and reusable. I try to spread the word to others about the importance of caring for our environment and minimizing use of products containing potentially toxic ingredients.
(9) I am very passionate about many things and I use my limited energy to try to follow my passions in an effort to make a positive difference in the world.
(10) I ask lots of questions if I don't understand things. I'm not afraid to "admit" that I don't understand something. I don't pretend I know more than I do. If I'm confused, I say so. I tap other people's brains when needed to learn and grow.
(11) I do my best to learn from my mistakes and avoid repeating them.
(12) I am not fake.
(13) I have survived some pretty dramatic (negative) events
and I'm still strong! I may certainly have my moments where I feel weak but I have learned techniques for building myself back up when I feel this way. I have been through great adversity and
extraordinary stress but I don't let it make me bitter. I play the hand of cards I'm dealt as best I can.
(14) I have learned to set healthy boundaries with people
and not worry quite so much what people think. I still struggle with this one (!) but I am making progress.
(15) I really work hard to support those around me the best I can. I do my best to help family, friends, and even strangers to the best of my ability. I use my voice to
speak out about issues that matter to me.
I believe in social justice. I believe that all men AND women are created equal (in the entire world) and do not see myself as superior or inferior to anyone else. I believe that all people have value and worth. I try not to get too attracted to material things. I realize that people are
FAR more important than "things"!
Wow! That was hard work coming up with 15 things. Once I had an idea for one, I could elaborate on it -- but producing each general concept took some real effort.
I hope that everyone reading this will take a few minutes to produce their own "15 things I like about myself" list. Thank you again to Maureen of
Being Chronically Ill Is A Pill. Her post really got me thinking. :)
This article was posted by Jeanne via "Jeanne's Endo Blog" at www.endendoat.blogspot.com.
