Our primary relationship in life is with ourselves. No one else goes through every experience in life with us. We are our one permanent companion, yet we are often our worst critic.
Five Things I Like About Myself. (To remind ourselves of our magnificence)
Begin by writing down at least five things that you like about yourself. This is not the time to be modest. If you are having trouble coming up with a total of five items, you know that this exercise can really benefit you. Be sure to include more than your physical attributes on your list, since our bodies are only part of who we are. If you are still struggling with what to include on your list, think of what you like about your favourite people, because these traits are probably qualities that you possess too. Another way to complete your list is to think of five things you don't like about yourself and find something about these traits that you can turn into a positive.
Continue this process for a week, thinking of five new things you like about yourself each day. At the end of the week, read the list aloud to yourself while standing in front of a mirror. Instead of looking for flaws to fix, allow the mirror to reflect your magnificence. You may feel silly about standing in front of a mirror and reading aloud a list of your admirable attributes, but it might just bring a smile to your face and change the way you see yourself. Remember, it is when you feel the most resistant that this exercise can benefit you the most. Because we are constantly looking at the world, instead of looking at ourselves, we don't often see what's magnificent about ourselves that others do. When we take the time to experience ourselves the way we would experience someone we love and admire, we become our best companion and supporter on life's journey.
My Thoughts:
I am not sure how I am going to get on doing this for a week, but I will try. As a child I was never very confident. I grew-up with one dominating parent that could never see any qualities in me or find anything that they considered I had done that was worthwhile. As a result, I was often introverted, shy, reserved and kept myself very much in the background, always trying hard not to draw any attention my way.
As the years have gone past, I have encountered people that have taught me that I have no need to be like that. They have gradually shown me that I am not as useless as I had been conditioned to believe. My new husband-to-be convinced me that I could do a degree, and through a little deception on his part, he ensured that I was in the right place at the right time to become embroiled in the Open University. As he quite rightly pointed out, I could carry on working and if I didn’t like the studying, or found that I didn’t want to do it, then I could simply drop-out after one module … I had nothing to lose … apparently. What I didn’t expect was to love it, and summer school opened my eyes to what it would be like to be a student at a university. Once I finished the diploma in religious studies, I quit my job to undertake a degree in English with Creative Writing as a fulltime mature student.
Looking back to my childhood I would never have envisaged me doing that or qualifying as a further education tutor to address groups of people. It just goes to show what the untold merits of having the right people around that see qualities and potential in you, that you can’t see.
My five a-day today are …
- I am compassionate
- A positive thinker
- Supportive
- Protector of the environment
- Animal lover