When did you last pat yourself on the shoulder and tell yourself you did that thing you’ve been struggling with great? Did you ever pat yourself on the shoulder? Regardless, why don’t you try it? And I really mean doing it, physically, pat yourself on the shoulder and give yourself some appreciation!

shadowflowersThere. I did it. I just spent an hour writing, and got 8500 characters down on paper during that hour, which felt great! So I patted myself on the shoulder and – out loud – told myself Great job!

It actually feels really nice. And the funny thing is, I can do that whenever I want to. I don’t need anyone else for this, I can do it all on my own. And that is important. I love getting appreciation from others, but when I appreciate myself, and really make myself aware that I do like what I’m doing, that I am proud of my accomplishments, I can fulfil my need for recognition myself. And that means when I get it from outside, it’s an extra special treat that I get to cherish to it’s fullest!

So. I strongly recommend that you get in the habit of appreciating yourself. Physically pat yourself on the shoulder when you do something great and tell yourself, out loud, what it is you appreciate just having done.

Welcome to my humble abode, where the underlying tone centers around being gentle to oneself. On Sundays I share thoughts on how I do gentle, and I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please subscribe to updates so you won’t miss out on future posts in this series.