By Troy Headrick
These questions were inspired by “Self-Appreciation,” Betul Erbasi’s excellent blog. In her piece, she tells the story of how she’s recently started giving herself verbal self-praise as a way of bolstering her self-love and self-esteem. If you haven’t already read Betul’s article, I recommend that you have a look. So, here are my questions (you have two options):
Option One: What are you proudest of?
Option Two: What do you like or love about yourself?
Following Betul’s lead, let’s engage in a little self-love. Share a nice thought about yourself with other readers of this blog.
Thanks for participating.
Troy Headrick’s personal blog can be found here.
I love my smile. It took me over two decades of my life to notice that it’s quite nice. That too upon receiving a few compliments from some acquaintances. Now that I look back, I was so oblivious, unaware of my own qualities (physical, intellectual, and emotional). It says a lot about how much I appreciated myself. Now as I’ve grown older, I admire and cherish myself more. I find that I’m the (mentally) strongest person I know, and it makes me feel like I possess a super power. So I smile and relish it. I’m glad I answered this. A bit out of my league. Ghosts from the past linger near. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your story. Why do you think it took so long to know and appreciate yourself? I think I’ve had a similar transformation. When I was a child, I was pretty self-critical and had pretty low self-esteem, but I now feel perfectly proud of the person I’ve become. I’m still a work in progress, but “progress” is the key word here. I’m still progressing in my journey of knowing and appreciating myself and my accomplishments.
Sometimes, we’re most blind to or ignorant of ourselves. And the only perception that manages to break through is negative – being self-critical. It’s usually a passing phase in the adolescent years, but can linger on if not worked upon. Like you said – work in progress. Every person is one till the last breath. Fortunate are those who realize this. Thank you so much for sharing your story.
You are certainly welcome 🙂
Great question Troy – I love my eyes (Is that too girly? 😂) I take pride in my work ethic and the love I have for my family.
Hi, AP2. I don’t think your thinking you have nice eyes is girlie. I agree with Betul. We often err on the side of being too self-critical, so I think we should acknowledge all our positive attributes on a regular basis. It sounds like your work ethnic has taken you far and wide and high (pun intended). Take care and keep on keeping on. Thanks.
I love my eyes too! So many people have said that my eyes look beautiful, stranger when I am passing by. It makes me so happy and I love it. My eyes are a bit blue a bit green but now they have become more gray
Thanks. I’m finding out that so many PO readers have cool eyes! It’s funny how human coloration changes over time. When I was a boy, I had really auburn hair, but later, my hair became dark brown and then black and now I have quite a lot of grey. We change, don’t we. We are constantly changing.
Hi Troy. I like these questions!
I’m most proud of my two beautiful little girls & that love for them💖💖. I like how I’m loyal and good hearted.
Hi. Thanks. Many readers seem to like the question of the day. We sometimes get a load of comments when we publish these queries. Being loyal and good-hearted are wonderful qualities to have. In fact, we need more folks with those. I bet you are proud of your girls. Thanks for the comment.
Thank you Troy!
I like my behaviour towards others , it’s very respectfully and friendly ….
Those are great traits to have! Thanks so much for the comment.
My pleasure 😊
Proudest of . . . The awesome privilege of undeservedly being a co-creator in the lives of my 6 children.
Like most about myself . . . Realizing I’m an ever imperfect work-in-progess loved in spite of myself by my Creator and many precious friends.
One thing is certain: You have plenty of practice being a dad! Yes, we human beings are amorphous blobs of effort, aren’t we? Good friends are a wonder! Thanks so much.
I enjoy lightheartedness and having a sense of humor—especially about myself.
I’ve long believed that one being able to laugh at him or herself is a great sign of mental health. Unfortunately, some folks take themselves way too seriously. Thanks very much for the comment.
I like the shape of my eyes and that I can’t hide my geekiness. 🙂 #nerd.
Very interesting bunch of comments so far. You’re the third person to mention his or her eyes. I proudly wear the title of Nerd myself! Thanks so much.
I have a strong drive to better myself and have come to learn that appreciating things about yourself, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem to other people, is what strengthens our relationship with ourselves. It’s like getting to know someone and all their quirks and off beat rhythms. It takes time to become aware of the gift in this and the capacity to overlook our flaws and see the beauty within.
It took years for me to learn to like myself, my WHOLE self, all my “warts” and all. I think people are especially vulnerable when they are young. When we are young, we fight so hard to be what the world wants us to be, and then we get past that, or, at least, I got past it. So I really related to your comment. Thanks so much.
Option One: What are you proudest of? I am really proud of my kids. They came out as excellent adults if I do say so myself. In spite of the hardships they have faced over the years they have held onto themselves and come out with a faith and a desire to constantly move forward in life.
Option Two: What do you like or love about yourself? I love that I am genuinely content as a person and have learned that good things come to those who wait.
Your kids sound like great people. They turned out in a way that would make any parent proud. It looks like you did a good job as a father.
Finding contentment, or learning how to be content, is something we should all strive for. It took a lot of years for me to find such a peaceful “stillness.” I guess I had to get past my restless youth. I had to burn out all that negative energy so I could settle down. Congrats for getting to that wonderful spot in your life.
I have to say after all the bumps and bruises it is nice to have settled into this rhythm of “stillness”. I am hopeful that I have learned the skills to make it last when life should start bumping and bruising again.
When things get rocky, it’s easy to lose one’s cool and to panic. (I am bad about reacting in this way myself.) We just have to remind ourselves to get a grip, to take a breath, to slow down, and to keep things in perspective. As we get older, we lose some physical abilities, but we gain the calmness to avoid making mountains out of molehills. Good luck and keep living the good life.
My good friend Jody says it is learning to work smarter not harder.
I already saw someone say this but I love my eyes (I just think their pretty, but I have to wear glasses I think they make my eyes stand out more so it’s a win win)
So many people seem to have such nice eyes! I can’t say the same thing about myself. Thanks so much for the comment.
I am proudest of the fact that through no fault of my own, my education was only high school, but have self published 14 books on amazon and was a Professional Realtor for 30 years. I like that I have been married to my husband for nearly 60 years and we have 2 amazing kids. I like that I am tough and will fight for what I believe it right.
It sounds like you’ve got a wonderful life. I’ll say this about formal education: Some of the dumbest people I know have PhDs (and I know a lot of that sort because of the work I do). And some of the wisest are those who are able to keep their eyes and eyes open and/or are willing to embrace a learning attitude. Keep on living the good life and thanks for participating in this interesting conversation.
I am proud that I started working a white collar job at a small age.
What I love about my self is that I dont allow saddness/negativity loom around me.
That’s a great trait to have. Negative thoughts can wear us down and be enervating. It sounds like you’ve really got things together. Congrats! Not everyone can make such a claim. Thanks for the comment.
Thank You.
I am glad to have been apart. Grateful and humbled. ☺
My pleasure
I am kind and I am.proud of myself for following through with what I love.
Beautiful posts by the way💙💙💙
Good questions, borne out of a wonderful post. In answering Option One, I am proudest of my choice five years ago to start seeing the best in people. Everyone makes mistakes, but at any given time it helps to believe everyone is doing their best. The way to encourage positive change, for the most part, is to work with people and journey alongside them, rather than being against them and saying they must do it on their own.
I always find your questions have many layers to them, and I will find myself thinking back to this over the next few days. Thank you.