Appreciation for the Life I Have

Self Compassion Exercise

Photo by Heorhii Heorhiichuk: https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-trees-under-blue-sky-3974113/

Hello my dears, today is the last day of the challenge I set myself out on of writing every day for two weeks! I did it! I’ve gained so many readers and I am thankful for every single one of your support. I wanted to see what my writing can do and look at how many of you I brought together!

My last article was a bit of a reminder that things have been hard for me and I thought today would be a good day to show some self-compassion for the things I've done so far. I pulled up another exercise and it's an appreciation one. I need to write down five things about my life that I appreciate and five things about myself that I like. Then I'm meant to see what emotions come up.

Things I like About my life…

1. I love the wooden bookshelf in my room that houses all the stories I care so much for. It’s an old bookshelf with decorative swirls and curls. I have one shelf dedicated to my antique books that needed a home and a caretaker.
2. I love my plants that require my care. All the attention they take and the love they require. I take pride in watering them and showing them off to anyone who listens.
3. I’m thankful for the three cats that I rescued. Caring for them when I was struggling to care for myself brought some life back to me. They are living and breathing because I saved them and they are loved dearly.
4. I love my family and all the support they have given me. They always have my back and would fight tooth and nail for me. I am grateful that they are who they are.
5. I am thankful for my chosen family. My best friends and my boyfriend. They support me in ways my family cannot and I love them for it. They bring me that little touch of joy.

Things I like about me…

1. I am kind, even when I have bad days and I don't believe that I am. I do my best to do no harm, I am positive about that. I want everyone to be safe and respected and I do my best to make them feel that way.
2. I like how passionate I am. I am angry about injustices and am working to educate myself further on matters that I know are important. I am strong because of this and I am proud of my opinions.
3. I am intelligent. I am full of ideas and thoughts and notions about how life should be. I am smart and I like that about myself. My intelligence is one of my favorite attributes.
4. I am strong. I have conquered so much pain caused by my mental illnesses and I am still fighting battles every day. I have persevered through the darkest times and I am proud of myself for surviving.
5. I love how sensitive I am. I am a caretaker of living things. I worry about the bumble bees and I cry over videos of animals. I cry when I’m angry and it's because my heart is strong. I am stronger because I am sensitive.

This exercise was hard for me to complete. I struggled to find things about myself that I liked. But, as I’m learning to be self-compassionate I know I must tell myself that this is okay. It's okay that I struggle to find things I like about myself after everything I’ve been through. I have a negative voice in my head constantly telling me that I am unlikeable and that I have no redeeming qualities. I know this voice is a liar. I am wonderful and I have a list of five things that I can say I like about myself.

I highly recommend this exercise to those who struggle with negative self-talk as it makes you work hard to battle those bad thoughts. Even if the things on your list seem silly or seem repetitive, they are worth writing about.

Thank you for going through this exercise with me. If you enjoyed please leave some claps, a follow, or a comment. I really do smile at every notification.