It can become a habit to find things to dislike about yourself. Whether it be how your hair looks, what clothes you're wearing or what shoes you just bought, it's hard. I feel like our brains are purposely wired to trick our minds into finding more things we dislike about ourselves than more things we actually like.
So I wanted to put this to the test. I asked 16 people to tell me one thing they liked about themselves. I left it up to them to be physical things, mental things, emotional things, feelings, whathaveyou not.
The brain makes us think funny things about ourselves. These things aren't that.
1.
"I'd have to say probably my sense of humor. I really like being able to make people laugh or cheer somebody up."
2.
"My favorite thing about myself is my sense of humor because I love making people laugh and to be able to just do it naturally is truly a gift to me."
3.
"I like how passionate about things I can get!! Like if I find interest in something I'll likely be able to talk about it for hours with the same level and not get bored."
4.
"My favorite thing about myself is how much I love my family and friends, they are my #1 priority."
5.
"I really like my confidence within myself. I used to really hate my body and myself in general and hid myself and through the years of learning I shouldn't let society lure me into these ideas, that there is nothing perfect with my body, and that's BAD. I taught myself that fuck it, yeah I am different and imperfect but that doesn't mean I shouldn't love myself and do what I want and dress how I want and worry about what others think."
6.
"I love how much I know I care for other people. Sometimes I think it's insane the depths I would go for the people I love but I feel like it's a bigger reflection of myself more than anyone else."
7.
"I like how hard I work for the things I want. I feel like I've lost a lot of my passions and drives over the past few years, but I can feel all that coming back. I love that I work so hard to get to where I want to be in life."
8.
"My favorite thing about myself is my ability to bounce back from trauma and tragedy. Sometimes I forget everything that's happened in my past to get me to where I am today and when I remember, I'm reminded of my resilience."
9.
"My creativity!! Fun stuff or just getting our of homework, I'm imaginative."
10.
"I'm able to be emotionally vulnerable with others. Sometimes I feel like it can be a weakness but I need to remind myself that it takes a lot of strength to open up to people, even those closest to you."
11.
"I love that I'm empathetic and I love my nose ring."
12.
"That despite everything I've been through, I have not lost my ability to love."
13.
"I am caring."
14.
"My ability to bounce back whenever things get really rough."
15.
"My ability to love people so deeply!"
16.
"I love that I know what my weaknesses are and I know what my hardships are, but despite everything, I haven't let those things hold me back. I've kept going and kept growing."
Whenever I write an article like this it always opens up my mind to so many things. There's a huge level of vulnerability that comes with talking about yourself in any sense. I can be the first to admit (and definitely not the last) that it's so hard to find things to like about yourself most days.
What (happily) surprised me most about these answers was the fact that nearly none of them are physical features. We are so quick to point out physical beauty about people the instant we see them on social media or in a movie or a random stranger.
These things aren't physical. They are emotions and feelings and mental things that you would never see about another person unless you got to know them. That means something more than anything physical ever could.
I asked 16 people to tell me one thing they liked most about themselves. Now, I just want to know more.
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