When was the last time you appreciated yourself? Must be long ago or perhaps not at all. We are raised to acknowledge others and validate ourselves through others’ opinions or feedback.
Unknowingly due to self-neglect, we experience a sense of deprivation and a lack of inner drive toward living a fulfilling life. This forces us to measure our worthiness with past experiences, limiting beliefs, self-criticism, rejections, unrealistic expectations, and comparisons. Such an attitude would invite emptiness and a craving for love all the time.
What if I say, there is always a possibility to look for appreciation within and satisfy one’s own needs and feelings through self-approval? Does that sound interesting to you?
Well, Self-Appreciation is the art of recognizing the value that lies within you.
It attacks you with feel-good factors making you more loving, unreasonably kind, polite, see goodness in other people, and the whole perspective of looking at the world will change. This state of enhancing your self-esteem and start respecting yourself.
As a school student, I used to enjoy working out the math. Somewhere the concept of proving got into my head while solving equations – The right side is equal to the Left side and hence proved. I started believing that I need to prove myself right and created benchmarks, and comparative scales to work harder without enjoying the process.
We hardly use our intelligence to acknowledge the efforts we make on daily basis. The key to self-appreciation is to make a deeper CONNECTION with oneself and honor unconditionally through self-awareness.
“Value yourself. Know your own worth. Drop the need to prove”.
3 tips to self-appreciation
· Look at the mirror and start praising yourself in – a verbal or nonverbal manner.
· Document every effort and reflect every week.
· Use positive self-talk to strengthen self-esteem.
Just the way, the child enjoys his / her time with the toy or with their peers, totally forgetting their surroundings, so does when you focus on joy of doing, you can draw inspiration from within.
Appreciation is critical — Value who you are and what you do!
It’s not about becoming someone different but appreciating who you already are. You are at peace with your own company — Be willing to acknowledge your beliefs, trust your instincts, and accept both your flaws and successes.
Enjoy this long-lasting relationship. Wishing you all a loving self-relationship!
