Katie Did and Katie Does
#Resound11: Appreciate
Categories: #Resound11

Prompt 17 – Appreciate: What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

In a word: me. I have come to appreciate me more than ever before, and I continue to try to appreciate my time, my idiosyncrasies, my ridiculousness, my charm, my blessings and all the countless things that make up who I am. It’s not always easy to show yourself appreciation, and I’ve realized how I’ve made a sport out of being hard on myself. I don’t know where this behavior comes from, as both of my parents are loving, patient people. I’ve come to see how damaging my own harshness towards myself can be, and I’m determined to stop those types of thought patterns.

If I make a mistake, so what. Who doesn’t? If I change my mind about something, who cares? No one’s judging me, and those that do don’t have my best interest at heart. If I make the “wrong” decision about something, it’s ok because a lesson was learned and I’ll be all the wiser as a result.

It’s these types of sentiments I would like to keep at the forefront of my mind. Even as I typed them I could feel my shoulders start to relax.

Stopping old thought patterns can be an arduous process, especially when you’ve carried these patterns for awhile. But it’s important to keep a healthy mind and equally healthy emotional outlook towards yourself. How you do that is by appreciating all of your gifts, along with all of your flaws. Those two areas combined are what make us each unique, and appreciating the fact that there will never be another you–exactly how you are–is what getting the most out of this life is all about.

Appreciation for myself is a practice I plan to hone and continue throughout my lifetime. I believe the first step to that is being aware of the need to appreciate yourself. The second step is making the time to actually show yourself appreciation. Personally, I would like to make this a part of a new morning routine, whereby taking simply five minutes to sit quietly with myself and my thoughts before I begin each day will hopefully offer a sense of peace and gratitude I can carry with me throughout the rest of day.

Regardless of how we show it, appreciation for ourselves is something that should be a consistent practice in each of our lives. It’s important to remember our own unique qualities and the beauty that lies within them.

 

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