Your Inner Awesome.

Today's Marketing Cookie is a reminder that your inner open mic needs some new material.

We are always thinking. We are the most thinking-est creatures ever. While solving problems is great, we tend to overthink when no problem exists and we invent new problems to worry about. But that's not all. We also make comments. 

Like an observational comedian at an open mic in the dimly lit, smoky speakeasy at the back of our minds, we perform for an audience of one: ourselves. It doesn't matter if it's in the middle of the night, while driving the car or doing a mundane task; the mic is always on, ready for our opinionated rants.

"Can you believe what he said to me? The next time he says something like that, I am going to..."

Not everything we think about is negative, but our greatest hits often are. The audience loves a witty observation and we're constantly on the lookout for more material for our monologues. Our best stuff is based on some type of injustice, slight, annoyance, or good ol' fashioned criticism of other people. If we ever recorded a "best of" album, the first ten tracks would begin with "too" or "not."

Too thin, not thin enough.

Too cute, not cute enough.

Too smart, not smart enough.

Too young, or too experienced.

At some point, maybe around season 13, a mirror was installed near the stage, and the routine started to change. Rather than saying "I" most of the time, we began saying "you." And the audience couldn't get enough of it.

"What is wrong with you? I can't believe you said that to him. You shouldn't have said that..."

Just as we enjoy quoting our favorite TV shows and movies, we begin repeating the best one-liners from our own stand-up routine until we believe them. Eventually, we begin repeating parts of our routine out loud. The self-criticism might get a cheap laugh, but it not only makes us feel lousy — it makes us lousy company too. 

So, it’s time to get some new material for that stand-up routine in your head. Start appreciating your quirks and celebrating your strengths, no matter how small. Rather than saying, “I’m too ______,” or “I’m not ________ enough,” just say, “I am enough.” When you embrace your own awesomeness, others will find it irresistible, and you’ll begin to notice and comment on the best in them as well. When you do, it will be as today’s fortune says, “If you want people to like you, like yourself first.”