...to tell me one thing you like about yourself.
I'll go first.
I like my witty sense of humor. I like my ability to empathize with other people. I like the shape of my fingernails (sounds weird, but they're ideal for nail art, which I enjoy).
Something I struggle with a lot is self-love and self care. When discussing this with my therapist, she challenged me to make a list of 100 things I like about myself over the course of a week. She said they can be "sort of" likes (for example, I like when my hair does this swooshy thing that I think looks good), superficial likes (I like how my new earrings shape my face), and real, deep appreciations (I like that my compassion for others makes me good with kids).
It took me a hot second to make that list. I sat with it and struggled for ages. The interesting thing was, I had trouble thinking of 5 things, but when I brought it up to my friends, they would immediately throw out at least 10 examples for me to write down. Which begs the question, why is it so hard for us to see in ourselves what other people see in us? Why don’t we talk to ourselves like we talk to other people?
It's easy to have internal thoughts like: “I’m the worst.” “Why would anyone want to spend time around me?” “I suck.” “I’m ugly.” “I’m worthless.”
That’s when I can look back on my list. I found that the majority of what I like about myself are my internal qualities. I’m friendly. I’m kind. I’m a good listener. I’m pretty good at piano.
Does that seem braggy? Yeah, sure, but why should it? Why should acknowledging your qualities be selfish?
Why shouldn't I say to myself what others have said to me? Or that I would say to my friends? It makes me feel better about myself, and to appreciate myself more.
So tell me in the comments or, if you don’t want to be public, send me a message* with something (or many things!) that you like about yourself.
Maybe you’ll feel a little bit better, too.
*(there is a purple “Let’s Chat!” button in the lower right corner where I can receive private messages)
Comments