Years ago, when I was still working in media planning, I got
a positive e-mail from one of my supervisors one day. It made such an
impression on me that I was telling a few of my co-workers about it at lunch
and they told me I definitely needed to put that in my “Atta Girl!” file.
A what? I asked.
They explained to me that I needed to keep a folder on my
desk labeled “Atta Girl” and every time I got a positive note from a client or
supervisor, I should print it out and stick it in that file. Whenever I was
having a stressful day, I could take out that file, look through it, and it
would help boost my self-esteem. While researching the topic for this post, I even came across an article online
that talks about how keeping such a file is a good way to stay organized when
the time comes to polish up your resume. It also helps you keep track of compliments you can later turn into testimonials for your website or blog.
It seems like such a simple concept in theory, but how many
of us really do it? Unfortunately, a lot of times, the negative messages and
responses to our work are the ones that stay with us the longest. I’ve decided
to make it a priority in the next year to consolidate my “Atta Girls!” into
one folder in my e-mail. Right now I have testimonials and nice notes kind of
scattered everywhere on my hard drive and they're not doing me much good. The
other day I even received a rejection from a book editor that was so kind and personable
that I’m saving it because it brought a smile to my face when I read it.
Here is an example of an "Atta Girl" that I've moved over into that file:
I read your article yesterday and it was amazing. I've
received such great
feedback from the community already, lots of people read
the article and want
to learn more about Guardian Ad Litem (GAL). I can
honestly say I have done a lot of interviews
over the past few years and the
article you wrote was the best. I could tell
you truly cared about our mission
to help children and I thank you for helping
us get the message out.
Okay, your turn! What are some examples of things you keep
in your “Atta Girl/Boy!” file?
2 comments:
This is such a good idea. I have read that it takes several positive comments to counteract one negative comment. Having an "Atta Girl" file is a good resource for coping with rejection notices. Thanks for sharing the idea.
@ Sclew--I think you are completely right that it takes several positive comments to counteract the negative. Sad, but true, and all the more reason to collect as many Atta Girls! as we can. Thanks for stopping by!
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