What I like about me...

I have been feeling pretty down lately, lots of things going on that I don’t really want to get in to right now. I’ve been really negative and pessimistic, and I finally decided that I’d really like to snap out of it. I also decided that by deciding to snap out of it, it would just be over and I would automatically become positive. It’s been two days and it’s actually been going pretty well, and I feel a lot better. So, in the spirit of positivity and feeling good about myself, I decided to come up with 10 things I like about myself.

 This was a lot harder than I thought it would be, which, if you really think about it is quite sad. I actually got stuck on the last one. I had nine items on the list for the longest time, trying to rack my brain to find just one more thing I like about myself. This actually had the opposite of the intended effect, it made me feel bad about myself!!! How pathetic am I that I couldn’t come up with 10 nice things to say about myself? It is so awful that I could come up with 25 things I DON’T like about myself in an instant. What an eye-opener this was, honestly.
 
I really need to work on being nicer to myself. This is probably the key to good self-esteem I have been searching for all of these years. It’s not weight loss, or nicer clothes, or a bigger house, or a better job, or a more well behaved dog (haha). The key to great self-esteem is actually liking the person you are. I don’t need to change anything about myself. What I need to do to feel better is start talking to myself with a less critical, less Mean Girls-esque voice. I would never talk to my friends the way I talk to myself. Never. If I did, I certainly wouldn’t have friends anymore. Why is it ok to put myself down? Obviously, the answer is, it’s not. It’s not ok. After this little exercise I made the conscious decision to say 3 nice things to myself every day. Today I told myself I liked my outfit, that my butt looked good, and that I am great at my job.

 I’m hoping in the future it won’t be so hard, and I’ll be able to list off 100 things no problem. Until then, here are the ten I came up with (in no particular order, although I would say #1 is the #1 thing I like about myself!):

1. I am funny. It’s a fact, and I know this because so many laugh with me, although sometimes it’s at me, I’m sure. I credit most of my funniness to my dad. We share the same deadpan, dry, sarcastic sense of humour. Actually, come to think of it, my whole family shares this. We make each other laugh A LOT. It’s one of the things I really miss, living away from them. My husband and I make each other laugh a lot too though, so it’s not so bad.
2. My teeth. Thank you Mom and Dad for the braces!!
3. My figure. There are definitely things about my body that I don’t like, but I do feel very blessed to gain most of my weight in my lower half. I have never had “love-handles”, and I can gain 10-15 pounds with basically no one noticing. This is probably also a function of my height, 10 pounds on 5’ 11” definitely shows less than on shorter people! I am very fortunate!
4. My eyes. I just love my blue eyes! They’ve always been my favourite feature J
5. My hair. I have thick, wavy, dirty blonde hair that I spruce up with highlights! The individual strands are thin, not coarse, I just have a lot of them. It makes my hair pretty easy to style. I can do curly or straight pretty easily, and both will hold all day long. I’ve always liked my hair!
6. I am stylish. Or at least I think I am, and I hope other people think so too or else I am in trouble! I haven’t been as adventurous with fashion since I started a real job, but I do like to try new things, fun trends, and bright colors! I should start sharing some of my outfits on the blog. I’d also include my home décor skills in here. I think I have pretty awesome taste. I’ll also need to post pictures of some of that stuff soon!!!
7. I am an excellent baker. I know this because everyone tells me so, plus I just genuinely think so myself. I make a mean cupcake. I think what makes me good at this is the fact that I LOVE baking, and I am not scared to try new things. A couple of weeks ago I made a pineapple upside down cake for my father-in-law. Not only had I never made one before, I had also never even tasted one! It turned out so well and was so delicious. One day I am going to open my own bakery. That’s the dream!
8. I am very punctual. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have been late for anything. I am punctual almost to a fault, I am usually really early for everything, just because I fear being late so much. People being late is one of my biggest pet peeves!! I like that I can always be counted on to arrive somewhere on time, and I rarely keep anyone waiting.
9. I’m adventurous. I like trying new things. I packed up and moved to a city I didn’t know that well to be with my husband. I didn’t have a job, I just knew we’d make it work. I went away to university in my first year. I’m not particularly scared of change, and that keeps things interesting. We have roots here now, but we’re not opposed to moving somewhere else in the future, and that’s really exciting!!
10. I like being home. I am a homebody. I don’t need a blossoming social life to be happy. I can entertain myself pretty well. Luckily, my husband is the same way, otherwise I doubt we would be married!

 I encourage you to reflect upon your relationship with yourself. Can you list 10 things you like?