It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

🎶Everrrywherrre EXCEPT B.C. 😭

But that hasn’t stopped me from adding to my Christmas Countdown for 2024. To end off the year on the highest of highs, I’m counting down some of the songs that hit the hardest in 2024 – writing articles inspired by each one. The first three in this series can be found here:

Today’s top hit is in reference to one of my favourite artists right now – Tenille Arts, and her song Next Best Thing.

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INSPIRED BY NEXT BEST THING

“Do you know what a squishmellow is?” One of my grade fours so rudely asked today, as if I had been living under a rock immune to the squishiest of mellows.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! Of course I do.”
“I have a hundred.”
“Which one’s your favourite?”
“Bob.”
“Who’s Bob?”
“Bob is like forty of them. All of my squishmellows are either a Bob or a George.”

I couldn’t help but laugh and think to myself: She is so much fun. Every single conversation I have with her I die of laughter.

And as I went through this inner dialogue with myself and four kids asked for my attention at once, I suddenly realized something so very profound.

Today is the day that I realize how much I sing the praises of others. I surmise that I sing like a bird (or like Natalie Furtado) about twenty times over per day – every single time celebrating others.

Perhaps my brain is wired differently.

But I think it’s human nature to do exactly this. To sing the praises of others. To even, idealize others. When we’re in toxic relationships, we romanticize the good so much that the bad becomes peripheral.

I bet you don’t even realize it. I bet you don’t even realize how much you celebrate others.

Even you reading, thinking to yourself ‘I constantly criticize others. I hate most people.’ Even you have the habit of being spectacular at seeing all the good that others offer to the world.

SO WHY ARE WE SO BAD AT SEEING THESE THINGS IN OURSELVES?

Why are we so bad at singing our own praises?

When we are so willing to shine the spotlight onto others, why do we never stand in our own spotlight?

Why do we never a raise a glass to ourselves? That would be weird, Rhys. WOULD IT REALLY BE THAT FREAKING WEIRD TO BE LIKE “TOAST TO ME, I’M AMAZING.”

Right now you’re reading this and thinking “He’s a damn good writer!”

Le Duh. BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU?!

For all the times I thought about how great someone else was today, for all the times I complimented others out loud…I don’t think I sang my own praises one time. Even if I tried to, I had another voice in my head being like “Well was that the right thing to do though? I think it was, but I’m not sure!”

The kids at my old workplace always teased me about how much I would make “I’m the greatest in the world” jokes. We’d have scavenger hunts to find something that I inevitably lost, I’d find it first and go “I’M THE GREATEST FINDER IN THE WORLD.”

For all the egos out there, I genuinely want kids to know how great it is to celebrate yourself, even if you’re the one that originally messed up and caused the need for celebration. I will often overplay my own greatness to kids so that they get the idea of how cool it is to tell yourself that you are actually pretty dang great.

But in reality, I don’t think I actually spend any of my mental capacity telling myself what my mind so often needs to hear.

When I do well at races, I rarely give myself any legitimate credit. I talk about how I executed my plan ✅. I talk about how I played things smart and fuelled well ✅. I thank my sponsor ✅. I rarely admit my own talents in the sport, because I’m always too busy singing the praises of others that I will never be.

In reality, it’s okay to sing your own praises. In fact, it’s one of the best things that you can do.

This is exactly why I love Tenille Arts’ song Next Best Thing so much. It’s your classic breakup song – except with an atypical twist. Instead of the singer ruminating over her breakup and writing about how deeply she’s hurting (I love those songs too), Tenille straight up goes, YOUR FREAKING LOSS, GUY.

“You already had it good as it’s going to get. I’d wish you the best. But you already had me.”

Tenille knows her worth. It’s a line you’d expect from 50 Cent or Kanye West, not little young country girl Tenille. But Tenille knows her worth just like 50 or Kanye. And for all the hate someone like Kanye might get for having an ego, he’s great at celebrating himself and his success.

If we’re going to learn anything from an artist like Kanye West, there’s no reason why it can’t be this. Recognizing your own greatness is not a bad thing at all. Yes, none of us want to be the big cheese walking around thinking that we’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. But most of us will historically undershoot on this facet of life so horrifically that this message needs to be heard twelve times over.

You can, and should, compliment yourself. You should take two seconds to recognize when you’ve done something well. By the way, psychologically, this is a proven method of making yourself feel good, and therefore give more.

RELATED: How can you inspire others, if you can’t inspire yourself?

Ultra runners like Courtney and Katie (the two great women in modern day ultra-running for the 99% of you that think I’m naming characters from Total Drama Island or somewhere else), literally smile amidst hallucinations and nausea to convince their bodies that they are alright.

Why don’t we do the same in telling ourselves how great we are? Why don’t we tell ourselves when we’ve done something well? Why don’t we dish that out in our own brains to an almost equal amount that we do for other people?

Is it really that uncomfortable to celebrate ourselves? And if so, why?

I may have heard them wrong, but I think someone said to me today –
“It’s my birthday next year.” AND I NEED THAT KIND OF ENERGY.

I need the Anne Marie kind of energy where it’s cool to celebrate your own birthday. And even more so, I need the Tenille Arts energy where it’s cool to call yourself the best.

You too. If you’re going through something right now where you’re idealizing something or someone else, that’s okay. But remember how great you are too. Take it from Tenille when she says:

“I’d wish you the best, but you already had me. So I wish you the next best thing.”

Stand in your own spotlight. Tell yourself how great you are.