S1 - E3: Self-Appreciation

What is something you do when you appreciate someone else for what they have done?

Typically, you would say, “Thank you”, or you would be nice, kind and courtesy towards the other person.

But how many times do we say “thank you” to ourselves? How many times do we give thanks to our body for functioning properly? How many times do we give thanks to ourselves for just surviving? Not many times I could assume.

Self-appreciation is about turning the kindness you give to others inwards towards yourself.

Instead of blaming yourself for making mistakes or forgetting to do things, self-appreciation is about saying “thank you” to yourself for all the things you have done, things you have remembered, but have taken for granted.

What is the Meaning of Self-Appreciation

Self-appreciation is not a commonly used term. Most people even confuse self-appreciation with self-esteem and self-confidence. But self-appreciation is actually completely different than those other two things.

Self-appreciation and self-esteem are not the same.

Self-appreciation is the process of appreciating yourself. Appreciating yourself is about being grateful for yourself. You can be:

Thankful that you are alive.

Grateful for your natural talents or abilities.

You can even be appreciative towards your weaknesses.

For example, even though I am great with communicating with others and very friendly, I do appreciate my quiet and reflective nature as an introvert.

Self-esteem, on the other hand, is a personal evaluation of one’s self-worth. It’s more of a judgment. Esteem itself is defined as respect and admiration. If you value yourself as someone who’s worthy of respect and admiration, then you have high self-esteem. If you don’t, then you have low self-esteem.

People could have an array strengths in something, but they may not value those strengths.

The same strength could be valued differently between two people.

Take the introvert as an example. One may think being quiet is good, while another may think this is a bad trait to have. Self-appreciation is neither of those. You do not judge your introverted nature as good or bad. Because a quality can be both a strength or a weakness depending on the circumstance. You are just grateful for what you are given.

Being self-appreciative is also not the same as being egoistic.

There is also nothing egoistic about being self-appreciative. Some think, “I am self confident. I’ll be so conceited or arrogant. Praises and acknowledgment should come from someone else vs myself.”

But that isn’t true. Unlike self-esteem, which may have an element of egoism involved, self-appreciation is completely about being kind to yourself.

When you appreciate yourself, you don’t enhance your self-image or your ego. You are just thankful.

We all come in different shapes and sizes. People who are appreciative of themselves, would treat their body with kindness and make the best use of how they are.

On the contrary, people who are driven by their ego would judge their body as either beautiful or ugly. If their body is different than the self-image they desire, they would mold it to what they perceive as perfection. Of course there is nothing wrong with having a better-looking form, but the basis of why we want to portray a certain imagine is what is important.

You are beautiful as you are!

When you are self-appreciative, you don’t judge how you look. You are just grateful that you are alive. Grateful to be able to breathe. And grateful that your heart is pumping blood to your whole body.

Your body is your temple and is meant to sustain life, experience emotions, and move you through life.

So why do You Need to Appreciate Yourself?

Don’t wait for other people to appreciate you.

If you have done a great job being mother, father or teacher, you don’t have to wait for others or a special day to acknowledge this. Why not appreciate yourself first for your effort?

Most of us let others judge and determine if we are good enough or if we are not. We let other people determine what we are worth and that equates to our happiness. But, just because you put in time and all the effort into something, it doesn’t mean that others will appreciate what you do and what you have gone through.

So what if no one appreciates what you have done? Does it mean that what you have done or completed is worthless? Are you going to blame others for not being appreciative towards you?

Instead of waiting for or seeking the approval from someone else, self-appreciation is a much better choice. Because it’s something that we control. Furthermore, people are much more likely to appreciate someone who appreciates themselves. You know what you have gone through to get to where you are, so appreciate yourself for what you´ve been through.

So how do you Appreciate Yourself?

Well here are 5 easy ways to appreciate yourself!!

1. Start NOW!

As I mentioned before, don´t wait for others to appreciate you, start to appreciate yourself now!

You don’t have to reach a goal or milestone first in order to appreciate yourself.

Many people wait for that validation from others, but to self-appreciate, you can start now.

Appreciate yourself since you've experienced all your struggles, you know what you´ve been through. You don't need someone else to appreciate you, you have all the power within you to do so yourself. Did you go through long nights or early mornings to complete something, well appreciate yourself for going through what you´ve gone through. Start now, there is no need to wait. You will have many goals you want to meet first, but you are living in the now.

2. Be kind to yourself.

Being appreciative for yourself is simple, use kind words on yourself. Change the way you speak to yourself. Think of the dialogue that you use when you are being appreciative towards someone else. Use that same dialogue on yourself. Use less words that create judgment, and start using those positive types of words towards yourself

Whenever you want to beat yourself up, switch your mindset and use self-appreciating words of affirmation.

When you forget to do something or do something wrong, instead of scolding yourself, why not appreciate all the times when you did remember or all the times you did things correctly!

We tend to focus on our negatives and our mistakes and forget all the times we did things right and all the positives.

So be aware of how you speak to yourself, this will help you to appreciate yourself more.

3. Keep a journal of gratitude.

A gratitude journal has many benefits. One of which is to help you uncover things which you have taken for granted. So simply keep a gratitude journal for yourself. This could even be a daily journal which you reflect on to see where you´re not appreciating yourself throughout the day to change that.

Appreciating yourself frequently makes it become a habit.

Not only does having a gratitude journal let you reflect on what you are grateful for over the years, it helps you develop the habit of appreciating yourself. Once you have developed the habit, you will start to realize that even if you don’t continue to write in your journal daily, you will naturally appreciate yourself more.

4. Give a gift to yourself.

Giving yourself a gift is one of the best ways to show yourself appreciation. You could buy yourself a cake for your birthday or for a holiday, or buy something small like a bracelet or ring to simply appreciate yourself

Gifts can be something material such as a cake, a new phone, a car or a vacation. It can also be something simple such as taking a break from work, walking in nature, giving yourself a massage or hugging yourself. Personally I prefer gifts that are not material, and that are more emotional.

So give yourself a gift, not get yourself a gift.

You may be wondering what’s the difference between buying yourself something you desire.

The difference is the intention or feeling behind it. Instead of buying something because you want something, do it from a place of giving and appreciation. You give because you want to give thanks to yourself.

When you give yourself something, you have to receive it too. The act of giving and receiving feels great. But when you truly desire something, you expect to get it. It’s a feeling of anticipation. The feelings between the two are very different.

5. Be Truly You.

Perhaps the best way to appreciate yourself is to just be yourself. Only someone who is appreciative of themselves can allow themselves to just be as makes them happy. They accept who they are as a person. They understand weaknesses aren't a big deal to them.

They know what they have to offer others and they know when to step back.

So there’s no reason to hide from others or be someone you are not. Just be appreciative and grateful for all that you are given and currently have.

So there you have, 5 easy ways to help with Self Appreciation!

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#appreciation #happiness #selfcare #behappy #positivity #love