The Healing Practice Of Self-Appreciation

Why is it so hard to appreciate ourselves? Discover how a simple daily practice of self-appreciation can shift your focus from what feels missing to the beauty already within you. Through mindful breathing and small moments of acknowledgment, learn to nurture self-love, soften self-criticism, and open the door to healing.
Start today with one simple question: What is one thing I appreciate about myself in this moment?

Transcript

Peace and blessings everyone and welcome back to Soul Speak, Conversations for your healing journey. It is me, Your sister, Your friend. Your colleague, Your peer, Your family member. And for some of you, Your therapist, Dr. Sabrina N'Diaye. And each week for Soul Speak, I will either have a guest. Or I will answer a question and sometimes a little bit of both. And today's question came from one of my clients, MJ. And MJ wrote, Dear Dr. Sabrina, Every single time we start a session, You always want me to give an appreciation about myself. The question drives me crazy. Why? Why? Why do I have to do it? And why is it so hard for me to do it? Well, MJ. Thank you for that question. And for those of you who don't know, That is what I've been doing for the past 20 years. Every single time I start a session with a client, We sit down, We breathe, And they have to begin with an appreciation for themselves. And it can't be a global appreciation. It can't be something like, Oh, I appreciate that the sun is shining today because you did not make the sun shine. And so I make people sit with one thing that they appreciate about themselves. And it can be a simple thing as. I told my boyfriend no. About a request that was going to be harmful for me. And that could be progress for that person. And so we applaud that as an appreciation. It could be, I finally got my resume together and faced my fear and applied for this job that terrified me. That's a legitimate appreciation for yourself. And why is it so hard to do? Because we have been conditioned to look at what's missing inside of ourselves as opposed to what is there. So when you come to me for therapy, Or when you go to anybody for therapy, The ultimate goal is for you to fall back in love with yourself. And you cannot fall back in love with yourself if you begin every session with yourself. Around what is wrong and what is missing. All of us have something that is missing. All of us show up with resentments and regret and missed chances and heartache. And so the healing begins in the ritual of the breath. And it continues in the practice. Of one self-appreciation. And yes, It takes time to create new neural pathways in the brain that allow you to see the beauty within when there's so much happening on the outside that may be less appealing. So my homework assignment to all of you that are listening, And also to MJ, Because MJ will be back next week. Is for you to fill in this sentence stem. One thing that I appreciate about myself in this moment is. . . And if you're not a big journaler, You can do that every day. Every single day, One thing that I appreciate about myself in this moment is. . . Let those appreciations pile up in your heart. Let them alleviate some of the sorrow that might be weighing down in other parts of your heart. And give yourself permission. To open the doorway to healing. I can't wait to see how this works for you, This very tiny homework assignment of appreciation. And yes, It will be hard, And yes, It will be worth it. So keep me posted, Because I appreciate my capacity to come on here and speak to all of you. And I am in deep gratitude for all of you that chose to listen. I can't wait to see you. Peace and blessings.