Honoring Yourself

I’ve begun a new practice of honoring myself and I suggest you do the same.

We have all heard of the experiments where an elementary school student will take two identical plants and care for them the same way except that one gets complimented every day and the other gets belittled. At the end of the experiment, the complimented plant is healthy and strong while the belittled plant is dying.  We’ve all heard of these experiments.  We are aware of the implications.  But what changes do we make?  

“Why did I do that?  Idiot!”  

“I can’t believe I ate that, guess I have no willpower.”

“Great (full of venom and sarcasm)!  Keep up like that and you’ll go real far!”

Are any of these statements (or similar statements) familiar?  Plants are physical things, made up of cells.  Our bodies are physical things, made up of cells.  Every self-deprecating thought has the same impact on our bodies as the insults do to the plant.  So, it is wise to stop with the negative self-talk, but don’t stop there.

The other plant in the experiment gets praised.  Start praising yourself!

“I am amazing!”

“My body is fascinating!  It can stand, run, jump and swim.  It breathes on its own!  It's wonderful!”

(Looking in the mirror) “I love you.  You are very special to me.”

Be sincere.  Mean what you say to yourself.  Give it a shot!  It only takes a few minutes in the morning.  Look at yourself in the mirror and say some loving, appreciative things about yourself, to yourself.  

I’ve found, in my few days of doing this practice, that I recall my experience in the mirror in the morning throughout the day and feel good.  I find I want to do it more than just in the morning.  I find myself thinking nicer, kinder, more loving thoughts about myself throughout the day.  And that, my friends, is a great way to live in a kinder, nicer, more loving world.

“Change your thoughts and you change your world” ~Norman Vincent Peale

Whether or not you choose to do this for yourself, I think you are amazing!  I love you - because you exist!  That is all it takes in my book.  I honor you and your experience and know the greatness that resides inside of you is the truth of you.  But, my honoring of you will only go so far.  You have to be the one to bring it home.