We need evidence.
Of being a good parent, friend, colleague, sister, daughter, or neighbour.
We want someone to say, “You did a good job.”
As Oprah once shared, no matter who she had on her show, from regular folks to presidents, the first thing they asked when it went to commercial break was, “How did I do?”
At the end of the day, we look back on the last 24 hours and wonder what could have been done better.
Charlie Brown of Peanuts said, “Sometimes I lie awake at night and I ask, ‘Where have I gone wrong?’ Then a voice says to me, ‘This is going to take more than one night.’
We all do it. But the thing is, thoughts become things. They can fertilize or catastrophize. They can set us up to see the good or to focus on all the things we wish were different.
And no matter what our thoughts are, the clock is ticking on the one thing we know for sure.
Life is finite.
So, remember this… most people have good intentions. You did the best you could, and tomorrow is another day. Try again.