Do You Like You?

My daddy used to say, “You better learn to like yourself, because one day, you may be the only one in the room who does.”

Growing up, I thought he was so silly to say something like that. Unbeknownst to me, it would become one of the greatest pearls of wisdom he ever bestowed on me.

So much of our emotional well-being is connected to how we see ourselves and whether we recognize our own inherent value. And that value isn’t something you have to earn.

Just because you exist: YOU MATTER. YOU HAVE VALUE. And the world would not be the same without you.

When we lose sight of that, it becomes easy to see only what we lack or everything we believe is wrong with us.

Self-loathing and a diminished sense of our own worth can leave us chasing whatever might help us fit in or feel like we belong. Somewhere along the way, we can forget just how AMAZING we already are.

Flaws, bad things that happen, all the “should haves,” mixed with a little shame, can begin to cover up our essence. We forget that we are not our mistakes. We are not our behaviors. We are human.

And sometimes, healing begins with learning to like the person who has been there through all of it: you.

So, start today by changing how you see yourself. List two or three things you genuinely like about you, no matter how small they may seem. Maybe it’s the color of your eyes, your shoe size, your thoughtfulness, or the way you make someone laugh.

Then look at yourself in the mirror and say those things to yourself.

Add a new one each day. And before you know it, you may just notice the eyes reflecting back at you begin to shine a little brighter.

And if you’ve forgotten how to see the good in the person looking back at you, I’d love the opportunity to help you reconnect with who you are and the value that has been there all along.