As I explained in my previous post, What Are You Going to Give Yourself For Christmas, Today marks the beginning of my 25-day commitment to appreciate myself for who I am, which I am doing in addition to my Countdown to Christmas with 25 Days of Clean Eating Challenge. Very fitting. So, without further adieu, here we go…
25 Days of Self-Appreciation
Day 1 | Nov 30 – Today I appreciate my openness to be vulnerable. In the past, doing something like this on such a public forum would have scared me sideways, but today I feel nothing but inspiration, excitement, and anticipation… Who knows what self-discovery lies ahead in the next 25 days.
Day 2 | Dec 1 – I appreciate my shoulders. It feels good to look in the mirror while I lift weights and see the muscle striations. It makes me feel strong and ripped.
Day 3 | Dec 2 – I appreciate my ability to take a deep breath and relax. I like knowing that I can always find my happy place by closing my eyes, breathing from my core, and quieting my *often busy* mind. So simple yet so powerful.
Day 4 | Dec 3 – Today I appreciate my eyebrows. I have some fierce brows. They draw attention to my eyes, which I also like, but will save them for another day…
Day 5 | Dec 4 – I appreciate my hands and fingers. They help me to grab things, type, point, high-five… I like to use them to express myself more fully when I talk too. I can’t imagine what it would be like to go through a day without using my hands.
Day 6 | Dec 5 – Today I am thankful for my self-control. Instead of reacting to things around me, I am able to objectively step back, and observe the situation and then decide how I want to proceed. I am capable of being around things that tempt me (i.e. dark chocolate cake, a yummy sounding martini, tamales) and not give in. I am grateful to know that I always have a choice.
Day 7 | Dec 6 – I realize today that I appreciate my ability to love. I am a lover, always have been. I like to take care of people and make them feel good. But really, when I stop and think about it, I don’t do it for them. I do it for me. Because it makes ME feel good to help people. It’s incredibly rewarding. Being a giver of love is a huge part of who I am, and that makes me proud to be me.
Day 8 | Dec 7 – I appreciate my strong immune system, which keeps me healthy and safe. Viruses, infection, and the wayward sneeze are no match for my defenses.
Day 9 | Dec 8 – Today I appreciate clarity… the moments when I am walking down the street by myself, looking up at the sky or at random things as I walk, when something in my mind just clicks, and suddenly I get it. Most days, I feel like I get it on certain levels, sometimes a little more than others, but these moments are different. I cherish these flashes of insight, where it seems as if every thought in my mind simply lines up, so that the world seems so crystal clear, and everything makes sense. I cannot help but have an overwhelming feeling of happiness and joy in these moments, because I know, without a shadow of a doubt, how blessed I really am to be me.
Day 10 | Dec 9 – I am thankful for my legs… for a few reasons. First, because they allow me to get from point A to point B. They give me balance, support, and mobility. I ran 5 miles today without even questioning whether or not that is possible. I am so fortunate to have perfectly working legs. Secondly, I appreciate them because, well… they are hot. My calves and my quads have some serious definition, especially if I am wearing heels. I’ve worked for these bad boys, and I am proud of them.
Day 11 | Dec 10 – Today I appreciate my name – Sheila Jade. When I was little I used to be self-conscious about it because it was different. Now, I LOVE that it is different. I love that I only know a few people with the name Jade. It’s interesting to me now, that “Jade” is the stone of love, inner peace, balance, and harmony. The name “Sheila” means blind… which at first thought, seems… like a lame meaning for a name, but when I think about it, it’s not. I have always felt that I am pretty intuitive, yet I have learned to ignore my intuition and act from an analytical place throughout my life. Over the past two years, I have been re-learning what my intuition sounds like… trial and error, bit by bit. It’s sort of poetic that blind is the meaning of my name, because to live by our intuition is in a sense to live from a place other than sight, but rather faith.
Day 12 | Dec 11 – I am grateful for my wisdom. Sometimes I forget how much I know about a lot of different things like health and fitness, design, marketing, and business in general until I start teaching it to someone else. It’s an amazing feeling to realize that all the parts of you, the areas where you excel, have come together so perfectly to allow you to spend your time doing what you do best.
Day 13 | Dec 12 – I appreciate my ability to write. Communicating through writing has always been easy for me. People ask me how I write so well and I don’t really have an answer, I just write whatever I’m thinking about or whatever pops into my head that day that I think others might benefit from reading. Actually, I take that back, when I get into the zone I don’t even have to think about what I want to say. Some of my most popular and influential articles have been where I just opened up and almost let it flow right out through my fingertips. I am grateful that I have the ability to tap in like this, and to share my passion in this way.
Day 14 | Dec 13 – Today I watched the movie, “Slumdog Millionaire” and I appreciate my awareness of my freedom. So many times in life we get caught up in the details of our day to day “stuff” and we forget how blessed we are. I have choices and I have free will, and I can create whatever it is that I want for my life. When I stop to think about that, it gives me chills. I am so grateful to have the opportunities that I have, both because of where I live, but also because of the choices that I myself have made.
Day 15 | Dec 14 – I appreciate my cardiovascular system. On Saturday I went to give blood so I could have some tests done and it is amazing to me when I think about the fact that when blood is taken out of my body, my body just knows to produce more. My heart is like a little machine that automatically runs the show, and pumps the blood throughout my system, which gives the cells in my body oxygen and nutrients. What an awesome thing when you think about it. Mind bottling… {Anchorman reference}
Day 16 | Dec 15 – I am thankful for my ability to hear. I am listening to Christmas music as I type and it just makes me feel so happy. Music is something that definitely moves me to my core. Or the sound of a loved one’s voice, the rain, the ocean, a baby’s laugh… I am so blessed to have my hearing.
Day 17 | Dec 16 – I appreciate my voice, both literally like in speaking, and also the voice deep down inside that steers me in the right direction. For a long time I didn’t really listen to or use my voice, instead choosing to sway with the queues of my environment or opinions of others around me. Today I listen to and use my own voice with confidence and trust that it will always, always, guide me and give me strength.
Day 18 | Dec 17 – I am grateful for my ability to multi-task. I can get a lot done in a day and although I am learning how important it is to slow down and relax, I also realize how important it is to love and honor the parts of me that make me who I am.
Day 19 | Dec 18 – I appreciate the fact that I am a woman. I just started reading the book called Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom, and I think for the first time, I am realizing what it really means to be grateful to be a woman. Up until now, I always just… was. Today I thought about all the experiences I have had because I am a woman. I thought about all the personal growth, the empowerment, the challenges, and the victories that I have been blessed with because of my womanhood. I’ve never seen the play The Vagina Monologues, but I think this realization gave me a newly found interest in going to see it.
Day 20 | Dec 19 – I appreciate my love of reading books. I have learned so much about myself, as well as, about health, business, etc through my love of reading. In high school I was typically the person to read the Cliff’s Notes version of any book we read in class, or just skim the textbook reading we were supposed to do for homework so that I knew the jist of what I needed to know, but somewhere between then and now, something changed. Now, I read because I want to learn, not because I have to do it for an assignment.
Day 21 | Dec 20 – Four days to go! Today I appreciate my liver, which does so many things for my body, including detoxification, production of biochemicals necessary for digestion, and hormone production. My liver plays such a huge role in my overall health, yet in the past I have taken this vital organ for granted. I am so blessed to have a healthy, fully functioning liver.
Day 22 | Dec 21 – I appreciate my abs. I have somewhat of a 4-pack and the upside down V lower ab definition, which I think is pretty cool. I’ve always had a strong core, and can do sit-ups with the best of ‘em. Today I am really grateful for kicka$$ abs.
Day 23 | Dec 22 – I appreciate my determination. A friend once told me that I’ve got “action” down pat and I think that is very true. I am not afraid to do something. There have been many-a-times where I could have just given up, but my determination carried me through. I honor this part of me, and know that it played a big role in getting me to where I am today.
Day 24 | Dec 23 – This is the first year I will be away from my family for the holidays, and yesterday it really started to hit me. I was feeling a little… sad. In the afternoon, I decided I needed to go on a nice run, hoping to perk myself up a bit, because my workouts always put me in a better mood. I hadn’t even been running 10 minutes yet, and I saw: a man with no legs, another man making a bed for himself in a corner to sleep that night, and then in total contrast… the most beautiful pink and purple and orange sunset. The clouds looked like they were glowing. I stopped in my tracks and thought, “And, you were sad about whaaaat?”
Today I am soooo appreciative of my awareness and openess to my surrounding, so much so, that I am able to clearly and quickly SEE and learn from these reminders, which are there to say, “wake up Sheila, wake up” and re-mind me of all the wonderful things that I have in my life right now. This was the perfect example of knowing how truly blessed I am to have the body I have, the home I have, and to see sunsets that beautiful on a daily basis, and yet still sometimes a funk can get the best of even me. So, because of what I experienced yesterday, I realize how blessed I am to have a family that I love so much that spending one Christmas without them is no big deal, and once again, that I have so many things to celebrate this year. Couldn’t have come at a better time too, one day to go!
Day 25 | Dec 24 – Twenty….five….days… Wow. It went by so fast. I am looking back over my journal entries above, and I can’t help but be overcome with a feeling of pride. I love myself this much. Today in the shower I was sudsing up with my gingerbread scented body wash and my pink loofah and for the first time in…ever??… I decided to give myself a hug. Not just any hug, but a big, arms-wrapped-around-to-my-back-deep-breath, kind of love hug. It felt really, really good. I could feel a sense of inner peace, almost as if it was in my heart, like… my heart felt loved.
I wasn’t sure what to appreciate today. I felt like I needed some sort of culmination, something bigger than the rest to appreicate. And then suddenly it came to me.
I appreciate my appreciation. I love myself enough to make a commitment to think about and write about, on a public forum no less, something specific that I love about me, for 25 whole days. I appreciate myself enough to make time for me. I appreciate myself enough to take care of myself. And for that, I am very very grateful.
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I hope that these 25 days has maybe helped you in some way to take time to think about you, and about your own inner voice. I can tell you that this was a commitment that has left me with a sense of empowerment. Not so much because I think that it has made me completely “perfect” in the sense of total self-acceptance and that I will never ever have another thought that would be in opposition, but more so because it has brought me that much closer to knowing my true self and continuing to awaken that spirit inside that is beneath layers and layers of years and years of learning to think about everything except my inner voice and my own self-love.
True self-acceptance and appreciation is a life-long process, one that I will gladly continue to allow to unfold in my life, day by day, bit by bit.
Merry Christmas friends. I wish you the gift of self-appreciation this year. And I am so thankful to have had you join me on this 25-day journey. XO
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Can’t wait to read more!
Wow, only 21 days (3 weeks) until Christmas!
That means I’m 4 days done with 100% clean eating….and another day to be thankful for something about me….hmmm….today I’m thankful for my eyes….they are the exact color of blue of my paternal grandfather who we called “Granddad”. He was the sweetest, kindest, most gentle man! Of the 2 of my sisters and brother who also got blue eyes from our parents (my dad has Green and my 3rd sister has hazel color) mine were the bluest of the blue, just like Granddad’s. I love this little thing I inherited from him. I miss him dearly, as he passed away when I was just a sophomore in college. There were so many things now, as an adult, that I would have loved to talk with him about.
I’m thankful not only for the color of my eyes but that they are still 20/20 vision (no need for glasses yet, at age 41) and healthy, and I am thankful that they try to ‘see’ the good that is in every person I come in contact with! Sometimes eyes see the first impressions of people they meet for the first time, but then later hopefully they can see deeper into the soul of people for not just what’s physically seen on the outside but what’s truly on their inside!
Wow, Mary Bess. You are really good at this!! That is so sweet. I feel the same way about my Grandpa, who died a few years ago. I also agree, our eyes are for much more than sight.
Your ability to do this publicly is admirable. I am not quite at that point yet, but I am doing it privately. I am enjoying your posts. Like the eye comments. I can still see my father 1- when I look at my eyes the mirror and 2- when I look into my children’s eyes, especially one of my sons. His eyes look just like my Dad’s. It reminds me he is still with me five years after we said goodbye to life as we knew it.
Thanks Katrina. I think over the past year and a half it’s become easier and easier for me to open up more through the blog. I mean, I have THESE pictures on here!! LOL. That was a challenge my friend! But now I kinda feel like I am who I am, and I’m proud of it – flaws, vulnerabilities and all…
Great things to be thankful for Sheila! Yes, so good to be grateful for just who we are now…flaws, vulnerabilities and all!!
Day 7…I’m thankful for my sound mind, a mind that has qualities from both of my parents….solid, business-like sense from my dad (he’s a business graduate like me, a lawyer, and for the past 4 years has been Justice of the Peace in our area)…very analytical and calculating…weighing problems and crafting solutions…a creative sense from my mom, being clever and creative….putting solving problems and providing creative, artful solutions to them. (yes, I can work a skill saw and many power tools to build things!!)
Day 8… I’m grateful for my 3 tiny tattoos…LOL! These were each thoughtfully decided upon and were attained at certain little milestones in my life that were important to me.
xx MB
Love it! Keep ‘em coming. I would love to see your tattoos (unless they are private) and hear about your milestones.
Sheila,
This challenge is really getting me back in tune on so many levels. I was kind of gliding along thinking I had it all figured out and doing all the right stuff. I was missing a huge chunk of self-appreciation! Now, in addition to taking time each day to think about the things I”m grateful for, I stop and push the thoughts to myself…what am I grateful for about myself.
Today is Day 5 for me – and I appreciate my singing voice. Even though I may not have used it to reach fame and fortune, it is so much more valuable (now) every single day–calming my daughter, teaching her how to sing, and soothing my own soul.
Anne, hearing this just made my day. I am so excited that you are joining us! It really feels great to take time to honor yourself in this way, doesn’t it?
ok – I’m jumping in – day 1 and 2 for me – didn’t realize how hard this would be –
Day 1 – I appreciate that my body is healthy enough to allow me to improve my level of fitness. I see and hear too many people talk about their physical limitations – to date, I don’t have any.
Day 2 – I’m thankful for the level of patience and understanding I have. It helps me to be there to push others through their journey, no matter how resistant they may be
Awesome LeeAnne! I’m so glad you are joining in. I find that I tend to think of more when I keep the idea of self-appreciation in the back of my mind all day long. Then if something pops into my head, I write it down so I remember for later.
My gosh…I am behind! Have been so busy the past couple of days that I haven’t had a chance to record on my blog my self-affirmations! But, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been keeping track!
I love all the things that you love about you! You are unique and special!
xxMB
Awww, thank you MB! Somehow I missed this comment til now. XO
Day 3 – Sheila I took your advice and thought about self appreciation while I was getting a pedicure today. I came up with some great ideas on self-appreciation that I am going to use in my blog and for the fireside chat I do in Val’s RCR forum this week.
So for today I appreciate the way my mind allows me to express my thoughts and feeling in a creative way.
Hugs you!!
Today I saw one of my favorite people in the RCR is facing a family tragedy – her husband has been diagnosed with 3 brain tumors – so today I am grateful that all my loved ones are healthy – please keep my girl Michelle in your prayers.
Ohhh Michelle… I will keep her in my prayers. Thanks for letting me know LeeAnne.
Still doing my 25 days of self-appreciation, though I suspect I’ll be taking it further, writing down even a few things every day that I appreciate about myself.
Day 6 – I appreciate my ability to be calm in the face of uncertainty and change. So many changes happened in my life over the past 2 years and even though my initial reaction was not very productive, I was able to overcome that and now stand firm/consistent when the world around me seems to be in constant flux.
Day 7 – I appreciate my ability to push, help, and support others achieve their ambitions. When I see a spark or an inspired idea expressed by friends or clients, I always encourage them to take the next step. I am usually very in tune with other people’s needs like this…not always, but quite often.
Day 8 – Today, I appreciate myself for making consistent healthy choices for my family. I want them to be as healthy and happy as they can possibly be and so I make decisions based on this fact. I’m Mama Bear big time to my 2 sweeties Denis & Mila.
Every few days or so I’ll update you on how this is going. I am really getting a lot out of it and have started jotting down things that come to me “randomly” throughout the day.
Mama Bear – amaaazing self-appreciation! I’m so proud of you girls! Regarding your Day 6: There is a saying that goes, “When the voices on the inside are louder than the voices on the outside, you have mastered your life.” When I read what you wrote, it reminded me of this. I believe that when the world is going crazy around us, and we can be calm and unwaivering, it shows our greatest strength. I also believe that’s when we are most aligned with our intuition. That is so awesome that you have come to this place of… trust and knowing.
Day 5 – I appreciate that I have the ability to deeply care about another’s struggles. That I am capable of truly listening. That I can help another feel like they have been heard, that they are understood and that they are not alone.
You ROCK LeeAnne, and you are a rock.
Gosh Sheila – I am having such a hard time focusing on me while I am so worried about Michelle – but I appreciate my ability to love and to have a broken heart – my heart breaks for Michelle, but the ability to love is one of our greatest gifts.
Day 7 – Today I appreciate my healthy heart – just had my blood pressure taken and it was 90 / 68 – Dr. actually looked kinda impressed and asked me what I do. Told her I work out 6 days a week – 3 days of cardio and 3 days with weights -for 45 min each day. Of course, my secret weapon is my @valeriewaters.com ‘s AHB training program, and her eating clean 90% of the time guideline that is keeping it that way! ; )
Yahoo! Congrats LeeAnne!
I just posted this on my RCR journal blog, but I’m posting here too!
I appreciate my ability to chat about the Law of Attraction, Wayne Dyer, living life on purpose…and then turning it around and playing World of Warcraft with my husband – playing video games into the night leveling up my Troll Rogue. I’m always balancng my life between true play time and work time.
Haha, that is so great Anne! It’s neat when you can have that mix of both, isn’t it?
Day 8 – I appreciate my sense of humor – I love to goof around and banter back and forth with people in a light fun way. It makes me laugh and seems to amuse others. Laughter is good for the soul, promotes wellness, reduces stress, and has been said to extend life. Also – I was told by my husband that when I smile my eyes sparkle – which of course made me smile – life is too short not to have some fun, be silly or play!
Day 9 – I appreciate my skin – I’ve been very blesses to look a bit younger than I really am – part of it is genetic, my mom looks about 10 years younger than she is too, but it is also how I care for my skin – using an spf on my face. Sun is the number one ager ladies use your sunscreen!
Day 10 – this is getting hard…. ah – ok, I appreciate my ability to be creative. I love to doodle, sound silly, but the designs are kinda cool. I’ve bought material and covered my mini vertical blinds so they look like drapes, I love painting by number but the hard ones
I like to write little stories, but do need to be inspired.
Great job LeeAnne! You are right, you DO have a great sense of humor. I love your tweets and your Facebook updates. You and Ryan O., I am tellin ya!
Day 13 – (I think I did double on one day but that’s okay!) I appreciate my choice to breastfeed my daughter for 13, count them 13 months. It was tough, but I am happy that I was able to give her this much of my time and body. When we finished, I knew she was ready just as much as I was. I am also thankful for this time because so many women can’t when they want to. It’s such a personal choice that I was happy to have and make.
Anne, that is so cool. I would be proud too, I have heard from friends that it can really be challenging.
Ha Sheila – out boy Ryan O. can’t keep up anymore ; )
Day 11 – I appreciate as Anne did, my body’s ability to house a child for 9 months – and now my baby’s body is housing a baby – yes, I am going to be a grammy – a tad too young in my opinion, but still excited! The body and the cirlcle of life is amazing and something to be admired and appreciated!
Congrats, you are going to be the coolest G-ma ever LeeAnne.
I agree, it truly is a miracle when you think about how we can literally grow another human being inside our tummies.
Day 12 – Appreciate my ability to coordinate – I had a absolute blast coordinating the Diamond club gift for Val this past January – (a hug Diamond award), coordinating the 1st RCR reunion this past September – Even though it is a lot of work I love being “the cruise director”. I’m thankful I am detailed oriented, for my ability to multi-task, my ability to get things done in a timely manner, to change gears to resolve issues mid-stream, and the ability to make things happen – this for me, is too fun!
Three days to go!!
Can you believe it?! These 25 days are flying past! We are coming around to home plate. I am really gonna dig deep on these last two… Thanks for keeping me company on this journey LeeAnne, and the rest of you awesome ladies!
Sheila – you did it!! So impressive… I feel off with three days to go – couldn’t think of anything … but let’s see if we can wrap this up …
Day 13 – I appreciate my abs
Day 14 – I appreciate my ability to be by myself and feel happy
Day 15 – I appreciate all that is me, my beauty inside and out.
Thanks for this journey – It is not easy to look at yourself and see all that is good, and loving and kind, but once you do it is easier to believe it’s true – hugs you!!