Appreciation

Appreciation is one of those words that we are more apt to use for something outside of ourselves. In this way we can appreciate something someone has done for us. We can appreciate the bounty of nature, the time spent together, the present we were given… We can even appreciate the skill of an artist ~ without necessarily thinking his work is beautiful.

Appreciating others in this manner is a wonderful recognition of how they are enriching our lives.

This becomes all the more interesting when we start appreciating ourselves.
Appreciation turned inward is the recognition of our esteem and self worth. In appreciating ourselves, we express respect for ourselves in such a way that it enhances our (self)esteem and self worth. It is a manner in which we value the things we do and how we go about doing them ~ independent from the value other people put on that.

From this perspective it is only a small step to these questions we probably all should ask ourselves every once in a while:
What in myself do I appreciate; what do I value most about myself?
What have I done for myself that I have appreciated; how have I recognized myself?
What in my life do I appreciate; how have I enriched my life?

Sometimes we may find that the answers to these questions come easily, as in a flow. At those times we often feel good about ourselves. We respect ourselves and hold ourselves in high esteem.
Other times it may be a little harder to come up with the answers to those questions. Not because we haven’t been the best we can be, but more often because we somehow are unable to recognize all the good things we have done to others, and hopefully to ourselves. How we helped a neighbor; or how we stayed calm in a difficult situation. How we saved the day by saying just the right thing to someone; even though we may not know that person at all… All of those ‘little things’ we have done and of which we don’t really realize the impact it has had. And consequently we fail to see ~ and appreciate ~ how good things are returned to us.

In other words, sometimes it is easy to appreciate who we are and what we do, while other times it needs a concentrated effort to see the nice things we do and to appreciate the good things that come into our lives in return.
However, if we decide to put in the effort to find at least one thing each day that we appreciate about ourselves, chances are our sense of self esteem, self worth, and yes, self respect will greatly improve, and our quality of life will be enormously enhanced!