Appreciate yourself!

For most people appreciatation is assosiated with thanking someone for something they’ve done for you. To some people it means taking time to acknowlage the positive qualities of others in some way. But when’s the last time you stopped to do the same for yourself? When’s the last time you appreciated something about your personality, looks or upbringing that makes you unique and special.

That’s right you ARE special. It doesn’t matter if you wake up in the morning with your hair flying every-which way, big bags under your eyes and scruffy pijamas. Most celebreties that we look up to as a symbol of beauty look just about the same first thing in the morning. It doesn’t matter if your job requires you to sit at a desk all day, filling out seemingly endless sheets of paperwork. YOU are an unique, unforgettable person.

So c’mon, be brave enough to say this with me – I am beautiful. Say it again, like you believe it this time – I am beautiful. And with time I hope both you and I will come to see and truly believe this, because it is the truth. And I think the first step in believing is stopping to take the time to appreciate to things that make us unique, special and one-of-a-kind.

I won’t try and lie and say I am the person with the highest self-confidence around, because I’m not. Actually, to be honest, I have always battled negative thoughts about myself. This wasn’t just related to my looks, but everything – my personality, achievements and accomplishments,  my plans for the future and outlook on the present.

However I’ve decided to change all that. So each Wednesday I will be picking a part of “myself” to appreciate that I will be sharing with all of you.

A part of me tells me this is conceited or proud on my part, but that’s not true. There’s nothing wrong with liking something about yourself. For some reason in todays world it’s much more accptable to be talking about what you don’t like about yourself then what you do like. For instance women (and men, mind you) will sit around for lengthy amounts of time complaining about their weight, thighs, skin, complexion and what have you, and it is considered 100% socially acceptable. Occasionally the conversation will go on for hours, with each person contritely sharing their own personal flaws and how they intend to overcome them (lose weight, get this or that surgery done, buy this or that insanely priced beauty product) Yet if you so much as dare to mention something you do like about yourself (especially if no one else has mentioned it first) a silence will fall over the room it’ll take a moment before someone akwardly attempts to change to topic. Not only will you feel that you have made the worst faux-pau in history, but there will be some whispers and hushed voices immediatly after you leave the room.

I think this trend needs to change. We should be able to confidently say – “I like my hair. It’s beautiful and healthy and I really think it suits me”  and have another person chime in “You’re right, you do have great hair. I love my nails, I hardly have to do anything to take care of them, and they look great”. These are some pretty superficial examples, but do you get the point?

But before we expect people to appreciate the good qualities in us we need to appreciate them in ourselves.

So here’s something I like about myself : my eyes.

 

My eyes are usually the first characteristic that stands out to people when I first meet them (I’ve been described many a time as the “girl with blue eyes”) and generally it’s what I’m remembered by. I’ve been asked several times if they are contacts (I love saying no to that, how boring would it be if they were?) and I actually got an offer as an eye model at one point.

And as a closing thought:

What’s one thing you appreciate about yourself – it can be looks, personality, anything?

Why do you think it’s more acceptable to complain about what you don’t like about yourself, instead of talking about what you do like?