Can Celebrating be Harmful?

I had a great job interview yesterday for a very high level job.  In spite of my low self-esteem rattling off self-defeating thoughts for the days leading up to my interview, it went so well that I wanted to celebrate when I got home. 

All my husband and I could think to do was to go to the pub and drink with some friends.  And drink we did.  Today, instead of jumping out of bed full of energy and confidence to keep sending out applications for other big jobs - I slept in late, nursed a hangover all day, and feel like a loser for wasting yet another day and for continuing to live in an area that offers no local, healthy, outlets for celebration.

Lesson I learned from this:

1.  I AM capable of being taking seriously for senior level jobs (after being laid off last year, I lost all confidence).

2.  I need to move toward things that are helpful to me (ie. I could have celebrated by going to a show in London, or dining out at a nice restaurant rather than getting drunk at a pub!) - and move away from things that are hurtful to me (pubs, some of the people in my life, negative thinking).

3.  I have to say to myself "you just learned an important lesson.  You are not a "loser" just because you made one bad decision.  Move forward and forgive the past."

I'm way too hard on myself - that is for sure. 

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Tags: negative self-talk, bad decisions