Appreciate Yourself

***Anybody can criticize attack and nitpick but it takes personality and self-will to be accepting and merciful. - Tonja***

We all possess a need to be appreciated but before others can appreciate us, we need to appreciate ourselves. This is simply respect for and the realization of our qualities and attributes. The things that make us who we are. Self appreciation generates self love. When you love the person you are it is destined to shine through for all to see, as well as, breed love and appreciation from those around you. It's definitely contageous so if you feel you are lacking in this area, you should start working on it today.

***We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light. – Mary Dunbar

Suggestions to help:

1. Begin by recognizing your positive qualities. Since I believe that things come to life when you see them, I suggest that you list them out so grab your paper and pen. Write down all the positive attributes you can think of; all the things family, friends, and coworkers say about you and how well you do something, or how good you are at this, or how much you helped them get over that. If you find yourself struggling, go a little further and dig through your entire positive network and write down everything. It is important that you have a healthy self esteem to complete this part. It's time to ponder over everything you've written and let it sink in; realize how valuable you are and be thankful. I must stress healthy self esteem here because low self esteem will hinder this step.

***You are very powerful, provided you know how powerful you are. – Yogi Bhajan

2. Next, evaluate yourself openly; your goals, performance, etc. Here you give yourself the opportunity to grow because this is where you acknowledge attributes AND weaknesses. Once you have acknowledged weaknesses, you can begin to develop your strategies to conquer them. Continue writing these things down. Build on the list you started except start a separate column for the qualities you want to improve upon.

***Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than he judgment we pass on ourselves. – Nathaniel Branden

3. Now, you learn to be your own best friend. A lot of us look to friends and family for validation and that nurturing feeling that it brings. I challenge you to shower yourself with this feeling and all the validation you can handle. Depending on others to validate us gives them the power to invalidate us and thus stomp on our self esteem. Very unhealty. Why not start today with learning to be your own best friend?

***By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before. – Edwin Elliot

4. Always, always, always, be yourself! We are all individuals with unique qualities and our own way of doing thing. My experience has been that the best results come from "keeping it real" with yourself and others. This means just plain being who you are.

***Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are. – Malcolm S. Forbes

Appreciating ourselves is very important to success so it is imperative that we learn to recognize our attributes and value. I implore you to take a moment out of each day to appreciate something wonderful about you, your accomplishments, and the road you're traveling.

**PEACEFUL JOURNEY'S!!***