Practice some self-gratitude this season
By Brette Bliss
Sky Lakes Medical Center
This time of year is when we think about our friends, families, and neighbors and practice gratitude. We usually think about thankfulness for what we have and how we can be kinder to others as we celebrate the holidays. This season is about our love for the people important to us, but sometimes we forget to be grateful for one very important person in our lives: Ourselves.
We could all benefit from being a little (or a lot) more thankful for ourselves sometimes. Many of us overlook and rarely appreciate who we are and what we’ve done. We focus on what we can do for others and what others have done for us. We thank others for the opportunities, services, love, and grace they give us, but we rarely acknowledge doing the same things for ourselves let alone when we’ve done them. This season, add yourself to the list of people you are grateful for. Be thankful for you.
Self-gratitude is where you practice thankfulness for the things you appreciate about yourself. These things could be something about who you are as a person, skills and talents you have, and things you’ve done for yourself. Perhaps you appreciate your sense of humor or your dedication to a hobby or trade. Maybe you’re thankful for taking time to yourself when you hadn’t allowed yourself that time in the past.
It isn’t always easy to appreciate ourselves, so here are some ideas for things to be thankful for this season:
Learning new skills or improving old ones
Getting through a particularly challenging point in your life
Consistently practicing healthy habits
Breaking an unhealthy habit
Working hard on something that matters to you
Recognizing things about yourself that you appreciate
Something you did for you
Accomplishments you're proud of
This practice not only helps us take time to appreciate who we are and what we’ve done in our lives, but it also helps us get to know ourselves better.
As we get closer to the new year, we may think about how we can be or do better in the future. We can also use this time to think about how we’ve grown or what we’ve accomplished. Growth isn’t about moving full speed ahead towards our futures and never looking back. We have to look back and acknowledge where we were to truly appreciate where we are and where we can go. I propose that this season you take that extra step to be thankful for who you are and what you have done. Whether that means writing it down, speaking it aloud, or acknowledging it silently; take a moment to thank yourself for at least one thing before the new year.
This holiday season, while you’re practicing gratitude, kindness and thinking about your loved ones, don’t forget to be grateful and kind to yourself.