Exercises to Build Self Esteem: #2. Love your talents and gifts

My singing voice.

My ability to articulate emotions.

My writing.

The way that I think (mostly).

The way I don’t do anything half-baked.

My motivation.

The way that I love.

All of the love I have to give.

All of the empathy I have for my fellow humans.

How I am able to pick up on people’s personalities.

My education in psychology.

The relationships I’m able to build, even if I have difficulty sustaining them.

My eyes.  They’re pretty.

My fashion taste.  I like pretty things.

All of my crafts and the pride it gives to me.

How I am a survivor, above all else.

My intellect.

Sometimes, my faulty logic!

My enthusiasm.

My passion.

My ability to willingly and lovingly play a support role in the lives of others.

My fierce loyalty to friends and family.

My forgetfulness.  It’s hard to hold a grudge that way.

My creativity.

My resolve.

My focus.

The way I’m able to be introspective.

My open-mindedness.

My chest.  I mean, come on now!

How I have the tendency to be honest to the point of bluntness.

How I am not able to lie.

My drive to keep going.

And my openness to exercises like this.

All that I am, all that I ever was...

Narcissism vs Gratitude

Since beginning this blog in 2007 I’ve spoken frequently of the importance of loving ourselves.

When I wrote this post I was worried it would make me look like a narcissist. When I recently reposted it as part of the Voice of the Past series this same fear of being viewed as arrogant and self-absorbed returned; resulting in several arguments with myself over whether I should post it, and after I did, whether I should remove it. To this day I still think it makes me look self-important, vain and narcissistic.

But does it? Aren’t those fears yet another example of the negative way I view myself?

If we do not love ourselves, we cannot expect other people to love us; and if we don’t believe in ourselves, then how can we expect anyone else to believe in us?

Learning to love yourself is not an…

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