ACCEPT - APPRECIATE - LOVE YOURSELF
by Cathy Wilson, PCC-ICF
2. Respect Yourself. Instead of looking and focusing on all of the negative things, focus on all the good qualities you possess. Respect yourself. Give yourself compliments when you have completed a difficult project on time, you had a good hair day, you exercised a little harder and longer, tried a new recipe or anything that you would compliment someone else on. Each and every person is unique. If you don't respect yourself, who will?
You may be among other weight loss surgery patients who cringe when looking at themselves in the mirror, aren’t happy with their job, or with a relationship and other aspects of life. You wish you were someone else – anyone else – but yourself. It is often hard to think positive, when you don’t appreciate or accept yourself.
Here are some “How-To’s? that might work for you.
1. Reality Check. Be real with yourself. Despite any scars, excess skin or other physical imperfections, very few people have the ultimate “perfect? body. Don’t compare yourself to celebrities in magazines. Thanks to the art of air brushing, in real life they don’t even look like their photos in magazines. Besides, you are more than what you look like.
2. Respect Yourself. Instead of looking and focusing on all of the negative things, focus on all the good qualities you possess. Respect yourself. Give yourself compliments when you have completed a difficult project on time, you had a good hair day, you exercised a little harder and longer, tried a new recipe or anything that you would compliment someone else on. Each and every person is unique. If you don't respect yourself, who will?
3. Find Your Solution. Rather than feeling bad about yourself, do something daily to improve those things. Try a new exercise class, get a makeover, update your clothes, take a class for a special interest, network for a different job or see a mental health professional to work on personal development. There is a solution for every problem if you're willing to make it happen.
4. Be Special Because of Your Differences. Tell yourself every day that you are a beautiful, unique and special person. There is no one else like you. Tell yourself that you are more than enough. Counter those negative messages and self-talk by talking to yourself as you would to someone you love. After all, you are your own best friend. Be grateful for what makes you different from others, as this is part of your own inner beauty!
5. Stress Your Strengths. Spend time thinking about your strengths (and yes, everyone has them, including you) and you will find yourself more happy and more confident! If you struggle with this, go ahead and make a list of your positives. Express gratitude for who you are. Be grateful for your integrity, honesty, compassion, sense of humor and all of the other wonderful things you are. Create a deep appreciation for your strengths and gifts.
6. Allow and Expect Mistakes. Allow yourself to make mistakes, because everyone makes them. If you make mistakes, you are trying – you are putting in the effort to make something happen. You will make mistakes – small and big ones. What counts is how you get up and bounce back from mistakes.
7. Live In Today. One of the big reasons you haven't accepted yourself could be that you're living in the past. Maybe you're unable to forgive yourself for something that happened or something you did. Getting over the past is an important step to build confidence, self-respect and hope for the future. The past is the past. Today and your future are what count. Consider your past as lessons learned. Learn from them and be better for them.
8. Set Yourself Up For Success. Make realistic goals and set up a plan to achieve them. If you don't maintain realistic goals, you're setting yourself up for failure. Plan for success by writing down your goals, a detailed action plan to reach them and monitor your progress. Set up small goals to reach a larger one.
9. Positive Thoughts. Just as you create healthy habits to support your weight loss surgery lifestyle, change your negative thinking into positive thoughts. One of the most important achievements on the journey to accepting yourself is learning to think positively.
10. Trust Yourself. Have confidence in your abilities. Know that you can handle whatever comes your way. Know that you possess the ability to make important changes for yourself. Look at all the successes and accomplishments you’ve achieved in your life. If you want it and believe it, you can achieve it.
11. Your Effort Counts. Put away the sledgehammer and be gentle on yourself. Do you often beat yourself up over the smallest thing? Is there a little voice inside your head that says you aren’t good enough, not smart enough and make too many mistakes? Pay attention to your self-talk. If you find that you criticize yourself often, make an effort to stop the self criticism. It’s not always about winning or having success in everything that you do. In fact, most of the time, it is the effort that counts! Acknowledge that you’ve done your best, even if you didn’t achieve the results you planned. On any given day, our “best? varies. Remember, progress not perfection.
12. Daily Praise. When you start to think kindly and positively about yourself, the love you have for yourself grows. Make it a habit to praise yourself every day. Because of such thoughts, you naturally undertake empowering actions that support your development. One of the tools you can use are affirmations that can help raise your self-esteem daily. As an example, post an affirmation of “I love and accept myself? on your bathroom mirror and repeat to yourself as you brush your teeth in the morning. Read your affirmations several times a day.
13. Tell The Truth To Yourself. Loving yourself requires you to be truthful about your own emotions. If you are happy, feel it fully. If you are sad, acknowledge the sorrow. When you are truthful about your emotions and what you are feeling, don’t lie to yourself or cover up and bury your uncomfortable emotions. Much of emotional eating is a result of suppressing emotions and changing the way we feel. Use your emotions as a barometer to what is going on inside yourself. When you manage your emotions in a healthy way, you are taking the ultimate care of yourself
14. Rest and Relaxation. You need to give yourself the time to take breaks. When you feel rested and relaxed, you have more to give to yourself and others. If you don’t pay attention to your health and take care of yourself, it can mean that you do not love yourself enough to take care of your own body. It is important that you sustain yourself physically and mentally with proper nutrition and regular exercise. As post-ops, you have been given a second chance at living a healthy and happy life. Make the most of it by taking care of you! Treat yourself with respect, love and care.
11. Your Effort Counts. Put away the sledgehammer and be gentle on yourself. Do you often beat yourself up over the smallest thing? Is there a little voice inside your head that says you aren’t good enough, not smart enough and make too many mistakes? Pay attention to your self-talk. If you find that you criticize yourself often, make an effort to stop the self criticism. It’s not always about winning or having success in everything that you do. In fact, most of the time, it is the effort that counts! Acknowledge that you’ve done your best, even if you didn’t achieve the results you planned. On any given day, our “best? varies. Remember, progress not perfection.
12. Daily Praise. When you start to think kindly and positively about yourself, the love you have for yourself grows. Make it a habit to praise yourself every day. Because of such thoughts, you naturally undertake empowering actions that support your development. One of the tools you can use are affirmations that can help raise your self-esteem daily. As an example, post an affirmation of “I love and accept myself? on your bathroom mirror and repeat to yourself as you brush your teeth in the morning. Read your affirmations several times a day.
13. Tell The Truth To Yourself. Loving yourself requires you to be truthful about your own emotions. If you are happy, feel it fully. If you are sad, acknowledge the sorrow. When you are truthful about your emotions and what you are feeling, don’t lie to yourself or cover up and bury your uncomfortable emotions. Much of emotional eating is a result of suppressing emotions and changing the way we feel. Use your emotions as a barometer to what is going on inside yourself. When you manage your emotions in a healthy way, you are taking the ultimate care of yourself
14. Rest and Relaxation. You need to give yourself the time to take breaks. When you feel rested and relaxed, you have more to give to yourself and others. If you don’t pay attention to your health and take care of yourself, it can mean that you do not love yourself enough to take care of your own body. It is important that you sustain yourself physically and mentally with proper nutrition and regular exercise. As post-ops, you have been given a second chance at living a healthy and happy life. Make the most of it by taking care of you! Treat yourself with respect, love and care.
15. Be Patient and Persistent. You are teaching yourself to accept and love yourself. It takes time, so be patient with yourself! Don’t expect to make changes instantaneously. When you become aware and work toward accepting yourself, the process of change has already begun.
It is important to accept yourself because it can mean the difference between a life of happiness and a life of sadness. When you accept yourself, you're more confident, self-assured, have higher self-esteem and self-worth and the ability to accomplish more in your life. Make self-acceptance your foundation. When you accept yourself and all the things that make you who you are, you appreciate yourself. When you appreciate yourself, a deep self-love is yours.
We'd love to hear from you, share your tips & experiences below!
It is important to accept yourself because it can mean the difference between a life of happiness and a life of sadness. When you accept yourself, you're more confident, self-assured, have higher self-esteem and self-worth and the ability to accomplish more in your life. Make self-acceptance your foundation. When you accept yourself and all the things that make you who you are, you appreciate yourself. When you appreciate yourself, a deep self-love is yours.
We'd love to hear from you, share your tips & experiences below!
 About the Author: Cathy Wilson, PCC-ICF, is a Professional Certified Coach, advanced accredited through the International Coach Federation. Her coaching specialties include weight loss surgery, bariatrics coaching, group coaching and addiction. Cathy has been an instructor at Bariatric University and Workshops for ObesityHelp.com. She is also a certified Back On Track Facilitator and regular contributor to ObesityHelp Magazine. A member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC). |