You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection. -Buddha
All of our relationships depend upon our relationship with ourselves. If you don’t love yourself, you can’t possibly love someone else. If you don’t respect yourself, you likely won’t make respectable choices. If you don’t value your time, you probably won’t use your time in a way you might deem valuable.
The way you treat yourself dictates how you’ll treat the world around you. So in this 2 part post, I say we should all recognize all the good we each do each day. While rattling off physical things and conditions that we deem to be positive, we should take a moment to celebrate the person who also weathers the negative. Here are a few things to appreciate about yourself today:
The Good Things You Do for You:
- You let yourself learn new things, which helps you grow and contribute to the world.
- You do good things for your body, like exercising and eating healthy foods (even if not always).
- You honor your life by making healthcare a priority.
- You take time away from work to simply be, which allows you to feel balanced.
- You bounce back from bad days and disappointments.
- You do what’s right for you, even if it’s not easy to say no to other people (and even if you occasionally people please).
- You choose to be around people who make you feel good about yourself.
- You work toward goals that make you feel passionate and purposeful.
- You smile, which benefits both you and the people around you.
- You give yourself the sleep you need to feel energized and balanced each day (even you sometimes need to get better sleep).
The Good Things You Do for Other People:
- You have good intentions.
- You accept people for who they are and try to keep an open mind.
- You make people laugh, whether you have a dry humor, an acerbic wit, or a caricature-like personality.
- You listen to the people when they need an ear.
- You’re compassionate toward other people.
- You make selfless decisions to look out for the people you love, even if not always.
- You forgive people when they make mistakes, even if sometimes it’s hard.
- You vocalize it when you notice something you value, admire, or appreciate in someone else.
- You help other people reach their potential.
- You’re honest with people, even if sometimes vulnerability feels scary.
