Thank who?
“Are you out of your mind? Who would thank themselves? That is so absurd to thank yourself! I never heard of it,” you might say.
“Congratulations, you’ve done a great job, you are a good person” etc…
So other people told you.
We are very quick to thank everyone for everything they did for us, even the tiniest thing.
You even thank your pets!
But the one person you’ve often overlooked, neglected, undervalued, unappreciated, and all most always neither get acknowledgment nor get praise is YOU!
Once upon a time when I was a young girl and had no money. I was walking behind a middle-aged woman. Then I saw tightly folded money dropped onto the ground in front of me.
My first instinct was, “Money! I found money! I can buy a new pair of shoes. Or I can give it to my mom to buy our food.”
Then one looked at the person, I knew it didn’t belong to me! This person had worked very hard to earn and save that money.
Maybe “God” was testing me, I thought to myself.
My parents always taught us whatever we find, return it to the owners. It’s bad karma to take someone else belongs if it is not given to me.
I walked to the person in front of me, and tapped her gently and said, “I saw you dropped it.”
She quickly checked her pocket and knew it was missing by the look on her face.
Tears began to swell in her eyes as she took the money I handed over from my tiny hand. She thanked me.
No, it was not easy to let go of that money I tell you!
Whether it’s right or wrong action, I know deep inside for the rest of my life. I don’t need to hear somebody thanking me for doing the right thing.
Having said that, of course, it feels good to hear someone praises me if she sincerely means it. You know some people just say that because they feel they are obligated.
If you are like me where I brought up not to toot my own horn, praising myself is to put myself on a pedestal. I was told not to do so.
I was taught to put myself down.
But to thank yourself is not to toot your own horn.
What this does to you is that you build a sense of bonding, a close and trusted relationship with yourself. You start to understand more of yourself.
Here’s what you should do.
Stop whatever you’re doing. Take a moment to take a deep breath. Relax.
Take an inventory of how you arrive at this moment.
You have gone through major challenges in life.
Have you overcome a major health issue?
Maybe, you just got out of a painful relationship.
Or it could be as simple as getting up in the morning and go to work so you can provide for your family.
Those are just a few examples.
Next, stand in front of a mirror, look straight in the mirror and tell yourself, “Thank you, for !”
If standing in front of the mirror is too intimidating for you, put your hand over your heart, smile, close your eyes and silently say, “Thank you for !”
Or if you prefer, stand on top of the mountain and yell it out loud.
If you have never thanked yourself, give it a try. It might be hard at first.
Keep practicing it, and it becomes second nature to you.
I told myself today, “Thank you Neary for having the gut to share this information with the readers.”
What do you have to thank yourself for at this moment?