Think about your family and friends. How frequently do you tell them you appreciate them? Hopefully, if you value those relationships, it’s fairly often. Now, think how many times you’ve appreciated yourself? If I had to guess, I would say a lot less. Most of us, freely appreciate others while habitually practice self-criticism of ourselves.
What does it mean to appreciate?
The Webster Dictionary defines the word appreciate as follows:
To grasp the nature, worth, quality, or significance of something or someone. Value or admire highly. To be fully aware of and to recognize with gratitude.
Simply give to yourselves that which you need – which is love and appreciation without judgment.” ― Réné Gaudette
The second step in practicing self-love is to appreciate your worth. It means we admire ourselves highly. We are fully aware and recognize ourselves with gratitude.
If you think about it, we all want to be appreciated. At the beginning of our relationship, my guy and I were discussing what each of us needed. The first thing he said to me was that he wanted to feel appreciated by someone. From that moment, I have always tried to show how much I appreciate him.
However, I can’t recall one time I told myself how much I appreciate me. The same is true for my guy. I recently asked him if he appreciated himself. He responded that it felt foreign to him to say he appreciated who he was, which I agreed.
Today changes for me, and hopefully, that changes for you too, because starting now, we are going to start appreciating ourselves.
Self-appreciation is a sign of maturity, seeking appreciation is a sign of immaturity” ― Sivaprakash Sidhu
Your mindfulness challenge for this week is to appreciate your worth.
Take a moment to sit in a quiet spot where you will be undisturbed.
Place both hands over your heart. Take several deep breaths until you feel your body completely relax.
Then ask yourself this question. “What do I appreciate about myself?” Let your thoughts relax and see what things come to mind.
Write down each thought that enters your mind. Then start the process again. These thoughts will become your affirmations going forward.
For me, my thoughts were like this: “I appreciate that I look for beauty no matter where I am.” “I appreciate that I am positive and happy and want the same for others” “I appreciate how I strive to be a better version of myself and that I always want to keep growing and learning.” The more I asked myself what I appreciated, the more things that came to mind. I found a deep appreciation for myself, and doing this small challenge helped me learn to love myself more.
Once you have completed your list, repeat these affirmations daily. You can even try saying them in a mirror, which will help you build confidence as well. The next time you catch yourself using self-criticism, try wholeheartedly to replace those thoughts with self-appreciation.
As Jon Kabat-Zinn states, “Once you have established yourself as a center of Love and kindness radiating throughout your being, which amounts to a cradling of yourself in loving kindness and acceptance, you can dwell here indefinitely, drinking at this fountain, bathing it in, renewing yourself, nourishing yourself, enlivening yourself. This can be a profoundly healing practice for body and soul.”
When we say thank you to ourselves and allow ourselves to make mistakes without criticizing, we can then start to appreciate who we are. Once we appreciate who we are, we’ve taken another step closer to loving ourselves fully.
Want to start with your first mindfulness challenges on self-love? Check out these articles:
Mindfulness Challenge, How Deep Is Your Awareness?
Mindfulness Challenge, Learn to Love Yourself
If you or someone you know would benefit from these mindfulness challenges, please sign up for our mailing list here. I would love for you to be a part of our mindful tribe.
Peace & Love,
Ela
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