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How to Start Liking Yourself
Several years ago, I went through some rough times and spent some time depressed. I really didn’t like myself and thought about how much better off everyone I knew would be without me around. I recognized this as dangerous thinking and wanted to like myself but didn’t know how.
Reading online, people talk about using affirmations, but I know bull shit when I hear it, especially if it’s from myself. (I’m not a fan of “fake it till you make it”. For me that’s “fake it til you’re ready to kill yourself for being a fucking hypocrite.) However, affirmations do work if you do it right, as thinking positively about yourself uses different brain paths than feeling negatively, and you have to change how you think. For an affirmation to work, I have to believe it’s true. So I came up with the following method.
First, get a notebook. It doesn’t have to be huge or have a lot of pages. I used a 3X5 notebook.
Each day, write 3 things that you like about yourself, something good you did, or good things that happened to you that day. At first, it’s really hard to come up with things you like about yourself. They don’t have to be big, just true. My first one was “I have good hair”. That’s something I won in the genetic lottery rather than something I accomplished and can be proud of. However, the fact is that I do have good hair. Even at my worst, I can’t…
