I Like Myself:

Sometimes saying  “I Love You” to someone is easier than saying it to yourself.  If that’s the case then maybe it’s time to begin with I Like Myself.   If you can easily say that you like yourself then ask your friends or family members if they can say it, you might be surprised. 

A few years ago I took that challenge and asked my 87 year old father if he could say “I like myself”, I was sadly surprised to watch him struggle with those words.  After a productive, prosperous life it should be easy to say those simple three words.  I’ve discovered that it does not come easily to many.  Age has nothing to do with it, but it proves that self-healing can be done at any age and the sooner the better.   

So why is it so difficult to say those three little words?  Is it a belief that you are not worth liking?  Nonsense.  Let’s start by examining yourself to discover what you do like. Oh come on, there is something.  What parts of your body do you like? Come on focus,  maybe it’s your eyes, smile, nails knees or ankles.  There may be many things you like about yourself and yes there will be a few you won’t like but that just means they need more or less attention.  Focus on the feeling that is associated with liking that part.  It probably puts a smile on your face.  Imagine if you were to like everything about you, imagine the smile you would have and the great feeling that would radiate from the inside.   

What about your brain, what do you like about that, maybe it’s your creativity, your organization abilities, your observing nature or your ability to reason.  Discover what you like most about you, is your ability to think, plan or do.  Then there is your personality, maybe you like that you are fun, outgoing, humourous, talkative or adventurous.   

It’s not about others liking you, it’s about you liking you.  You are the most important person in your world.  When you truly like yourself, you won’t care what other perceive about you because you know in the bottom of your heart that you are likeable.  Those that don’t like you may not like themselves either.  Think about your friends, why do they like you.   

If you are coming up a little short in the I like myself department, here’s a simple exercise that will change your life.  Instead of growling at or ignoring every mirror you see, stop and look directly into your eyes and say “I like myself”, give yourself a nod and move on with what you were doing.  Don’t look at all the things you don’t like, just look into your eyes.  Once you have mastered that start saying it to yourself 1000 times a day.  When you feel brave enough say it out loud to your family members.  Ask them if they can say it, if not you can play the I like myself game with each other.   

Being able to confidently say I like myself is not arrogant, conceded or anything close.  It is confirmation to yourself that you simply like yourself.  It’s a good thing.   Now that you are self-assured that you like yourself, you may want to move to the next step… saying… I love myself.  It’s not too far of a stretch is it? 

Thought Patterns

Wow, where do we start with this one. 

There are those thousands of thoughts coming to us every moment of every day. Good thoughts, bad thoughts, thoughts about our kids, our parents, our environment, our work, bills, and of course there’s all those thoughts about taking some time for ourselves.  Where does it stop!  It doesn’t.  Our brains will continue to do it’s job and emit thoughts every minute of our lives.  Those thoughts can be positive or negative you have control over the way you think. 

Some people are not even aware of their thoughts.  It just automatic from thought to mouth, usually taking a direct route.  Some think and ponder their thoughts and then choose what they will do with their thoughts share, not share, act, not act.

It’s not always thoughts about others; often it’s thoughts about ourselves that seem to be negative.  Why is that?  We have lived with ourselves for our entire life.  No one knows us better than ourselves.  We’ve seen ourselves change and grow, and grow.  We’ve been growing everyday of our life, check the size of your ears. 

The wise always speak about keeping our thoughts positive.  They say, positive thoughts produce positive results.  Negative thinking produces negative feeling and more negative thoughts. 

It’s time to do a reality check on our thoughts.  This month we invite Personal Growth Sheet Participants to do just that.  Describe what your current thoughts are about yourself, your partner, kids etc. You may need a notebook.  Then explore these thoughts, are they negative, has this been long term thinking, do you want to think differently?

Next we explore ways to turn those negatives into positives.  There are a number of ways to help you change your thinking.  Practice affirmations, listen to positive CD’s, and remove negativity as much as possible. Try saying yes as much as possible or simply try changing your perspective.

Our thoughts form our reality.  If they are negative and you want to change them, go ahead, you have the power.  Explore what it would be like to think only positive thoughts about the people and your surroundings?  It will feel good, you might really like it.