Telling yourself “thank you” may sound like an absurd and unnecessary thing to do, but that is what self-appreciation is all about. Many people confuse self-appreciation for self-confidence or self-esteem, although these terms are related but mean different things.
Simply put, self-appreciation is being grateful to yourself for the things you’ve done right, rather than always blaming yourself for the mistakes you’ve made or for something you forgot to do.
If you still think self-appreciation is an unnecessary thing to do, or want to know why it is right to thank yourself sometimes, this article is for you. Stick with us till the end as we share with you six reasons why you should give yourself a thumb up.
Six reasons to practice self-appreciation
1. Appreciate yourself to appreciate others
When you know how it feels to be appreciated for doing the right thing, you would definitely want others to have such experience. Saying “thank you” can be a challenging task for some people, and may think self-appreciation is egoistic. Carrying such a mentality could affect one’s ability to be thankful for others; they may feel it is unnecessary, or doing them a favour is the other person’s responsibility.
Self-appreciation does not make you arrogant or egoistic; it is simply showing gratitude to yourself by doing what you would normally do for others as a sign of appreciation. You don’t necessarily need to go about telling people the awesome thing you’ve done to deserve such appreciation, the same way you wouldn’t go about telling people what others did for you unless necessary.
2. Helps you stay positive
We could all use some words of encouragement sometimes in life, but what happens when there’s no one there to give them? Self-appreciation is one way to recognize your efforts and give yourself reasons to push through difficult times.
When things go wrong or become though, some people tend to think negatively about themselves. Although this has to do with their level of self-esteem, being thankful to yourself for your efforts and achievements could help you counter those negative thoughts and things you tell yourself.
Simply saying “thank you” to yourself could ignite a cloud of positivity around you, and help you realize the same personal efforts that paid in the past can surely get you what you want right now.
3. Life isn’t easy
Not so many people are born rich, and even the rich still experience challenges in life, so complaining about how difficult life can be is a regular thing. It would help if you were thankful that you could make decisions that help you pull through this difficult journey.
Keep in mind that there are people who wish they were in your position right now or had the opportunity to do something you’ve done. Therefore you deserve a pat on the back for such hard work and achievement, if not from anyone, then from yourself.
4. When no one else does
Many people depend on others to determine if they are good or not; this restricts their worth and happiness to the opinion of other people. The downside of this is that appreciation doesn’t always come from those we expect if from.
Just because we put all effort into doing something doesn’t guaranty that appreciation would come, and such expectations may often lead to disappointment. The fact that others do not see reasons to appreciate your hard work doesn’t mean your effort was worthless. Instead of waiting for or depending on others to appreciate you, it would do you great good to appreciate yourself.
5. You are unique
Everybody is unique in one way or the other, we all possess different talents, bodies, likes, and dislikes, amongst other things. People who are self-appreciative find more peace within themselves because they are not judgmental of how they look or perceived by others. They treat themselves with kindness, accept themselves for who they are, and make the best use of their uniqueness.
On the other hand, people who do not appreciate themselves continuously yearn for their perspective of perfection and are ready to change themselves at all costs. Although there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be better looking, however, if it’s at the detriment of your body, which is meant to sustain life functions in you, it isn’t such a good idea.
6. Nobody is perfect
You’re probably familiar with the “Nobody is perfect” phrase, which stands to be true in most cases. This means there is no point in beating yourself up for making a mistake, which could have happened to anybody.
Practicing self-appreciation allows you to be grateful for those moments you did something right and helps you understand that just like anybody, you can be right or wrong about your judgments sometimes because nobody is perfect!
Two simple ways to practice self-appreciation
Now that you probably see reasons why self-appreciation is necessary, you may be wondering how to go about being thankful to yourself. There are no specific ways to show self-appreciation.
It is simply doing to yourself what you would normally do for others as a sign of gratitude. However, if you still need something to hold on to, here are two simple and common ways to go about self-appreciation.
1. Get yourself a gift
If possible, you should put a smile on your face by getting something you’ve always wanted. It could be your favorite dessert, a new smartphone, a trip, or anything. Most people spend their resources to meet the desires of those they care for and don’t get a reciprocal sign of care from others.
If you are one such person, you should consider treating yourself right for once. It doesn’t mean you are stingy; it is only an act of self-appreciation for being such a right person.
2. Be kind to yourself
It is unnecessary to punish yourself for doing something wrong. The least you should do is try to make amends if possible and learn from your mistake. Using harsh words can be detrimental to your self-esteem, the same way it affects others when you use such words on them.
You want to use kind words to describe yourself and correct yourself with love. Not physically hurting yourself is a way to show appreciation to your body for functioning correctly.
Conclusion
If you start practicing self-appreciation today, you are more likely to start seeing yourself from a better perspective. Regardless of other people’s opinions about you practicing self-appreciation, you want to do it as much as possible for your good. Always keep in mind that your wellbeing matters, and it is majorly your responsibility to ensure your happiness.
