It sounds simple, right?
Well… not exactly.
I was given this challenge last year:
Say the words—“I am proud that I did _______” or “I am proud of ______.”
Easy enough on the surface. But when it came time to actually do it, I realized how rarely I’d given myself that kind of affirmation.
We love hearing those words from others—our parents, coaches, friends, mentors. We might even expect it from them.
But what do we usually do when someone tells us they’re proud of us?
We brush it off.
“Oh, thanks, but it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Yeah, but I could’ve done better.”
“If only _____ had gone differently…”
Or, “Of course you’d say that—you’re supposed to.”
But when you say it—when you actually tell yourself, “I’m proud of you”—it hits differently. It sinks in deeper.
We often walk this tightrope between humility and self-doubt. And the longer we tiptoe that line, the closer we get to believing things like “I can’t do anything right” or “I’m not worthy.”
At some point, celebrating yourself became taboo.
But why?
Why shouldn’t you be the one to validate your own efforts?
So I started small.
After a workout, I told myself I was proud.
Not because I hit a PR.
But because I scaled the workout in a way that honored what my body needed that day.
Because I pushed harder than I normally would have.
Because I took time I needed for me.
Then I started saying it out loud—to my friends, my community.
Their reaction?
“Awesome! You should be proud.”
“Nice work!”
Each one of those moments became a tiny deposit into the bank account of my confidence, my worth, my identity.
Not for anyone else.
Just for me.
The difference in me is dramatic.
I am proud of myself for starting this practice.
It’s a practice I’m still working on.
But like a savings account, those small deposits add up. They build interest. They build belief.
At WildFire, we create a lot of opportunities for this kind of growth.
The Weekly Win Board
Notes in BTWB
Ringing the bell, etc
Your coaches and community are here to add to those deposits.
The question is: are you taking advantage of them?
Are you giving yourself credit where it’s due?
Because the deposit only counts when you actually say it—and own it.
So what could you accomplish, and who could you become, if you started saying those words more often?
“I’m proud of me.”
Say it today.
Say it tomorrow.
Say it until you believe it.
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