Five things you love about yourself.
Five things your body can do.
Five things you’re grateful for.
Five things that make you happy you’re alive.
Five people (or pets) who you love.
It's a hard one for me to do right now, because I feel down on myself and the world. So I decided, I should do it for that reason alone.
Today, Five things I love about myself.
1. I feel happy and confident as a parent. Parenting is so *hard* - I remember the complete despair I felt when my oldest was nearing his first birthday. I began to question the decision to become a parent in the first place. That time is so far behind me, and has never come back. Not only, do I feel like I know what I am doing, I frequently want to celebrate the day. I know this rubs off on my kids. "How are you doing?" strangers ask them. "Great!" is their unfailing response.
2. I am a doer. Give me a problem, just mention that one exists - and I have an uncontrollable drive to take action, to solve it, to change the world. This comes back to bite me sometimes as I find myself overcommitted and drowning, but for the most part, it is exhilarating to know I can do it all and to have the desire to do more. "Mommy, I wish we could..." "Hmmm... let me think... I know!" So many great days have started that way.
3. I love and connect with people. I come from a culture that is far more emotionally open than the US. People laugh and cry and call each other names and scream. There are definitely downsides to this approach. But on the other hand, I have never lost my ability and desire to surrender defenses and be completely in the moment with another. I often notice that people find it easier to display anger than true gratitude, push than pull. So I choose to hug, offer genuine effusive compliments and tell those around me how much they mean.
4. My friends comment on my child-like unabashed sense of life. I will jump for joy in an office, cry at the sight of man's accomplishment (I really did cry watching the John Galt line in the Atlas Shrugged movie), and delight in all things that are good. Lately, I have noticed that my joy has become tempered, its expression reserved, and decided, it's one of the most unique and special things about me - so I am keeping it! (Has anyone counted exclamation marks in my blog?)
5. I can and love to express myself. One might say, I love to hear myself talk. No, it's really true! I do. I love writing, talking, sharing, public speaking, blogging. I love telling my kids about my thoughts and feelings, about my past life. I love remembering stories from my childhood growing up in Russia. I enjoy teaching people about technology, offering advice about parenting, sharing my recipes in CaveKitchen. It is fun to open my mouth or sit at the keyboard and never fear that a word won't come.
Extroverts have a fine way of expressing themselves and sharing their thoughts. However, a select few have troubles organizing their thoughts and putting them on coherent, systematic key points, which impedes them of being effective speakers.
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