“I am so proud of you. I am so proud to have you in my life. I am so proud to have support from someone like yourself. I am so proud for all that you do, all that you say and all that you are.”

How often has anyone told you such things? How did it make you feel? How does it make you feel reading this and knowing that you haven’t heard it frequently or at all?

There are so many things about people than we can be proud of but how often do we communicate it? Sometimes and too often in life, we realise these things when it is far too late.

It all starts with yourself. Are YOU proud of YOURSELF? Well then, give yourself a pat on the back and affirm within yourself that you’re proud of YOU. Your inner voice needs positive talk like this to boost your self-confidence.

Then, when you’re done applauding your own achievements and efforts, ask yourself, who else in your life that you’re proud about. Is it your children? Your parents? Your team that you work with? Your boss?

Do they know that you’re proud of them? To have them in your life? To work with such a team? If not, ask yourself why not and then ask yourself how and when you will let them know that you’re proud of them.

If you’re not proud of yourself or your relationships with anyone else, then also ask yourself, “Why?” Then commit to finding ways and means to fix that.

Ask yourself again, who is proud of you? Is it your partner? Your children? Your parents? Your team? What can you say or do to make sure that they continue being proud of you? If it’s your aim for them to be proud of you and you live your life for their honour, then it goes without saying that you will constantly strive to make them and yourself proud.

The worst feeling will be that of not letting know those you are proud of, know just how proud you are of them. Never take it for granted and if you have communicated it once, once may not be enough, some people need more reminders. The more you let someone know how proud you are of them, the more effort they will make to keep you proud.

More importantly, be specific. “I am proud of you my son,” is not as effective as, “I am so proud of you my son, for saving your money to make this dream of yours a reality, well done.”

“I am so proud to work with you.” To be more specific, rather say something like, “I am so proud to work with someone like yourself who is mature and does not take things personally and always open to constructive feedback.”

“I’m proud to be your wife,” verses, “I’m proud to be your wife because you’re a man of your word, I know that I can count on you in the most difficult situations.”

Think about who you’re proud of and make an attempt to let them know exactly why you are proud of them.

If words don’t come easily to you, then send your message via this song: