Can you list what you like about yourself?

[mmMekitty]

Hello everyone! [Grinning LRC*]

Please, as a challenge or to share, I would like to invite anyone & everyone to write a list of any length you want, of what you like about yourself.

We might even have a discussion about what to include on these lists or not.

Most of all, for this Discussion, I hope, for those who find this really difficult, that reading what others like about themselves will give you some ideas of what is possible. Maybe you will find you like some of these things about yourself?

Big hugzies to everyone

mmMekitty

* LRC = Little Red cat, who wasn't really so little.

[mmMekitty]

Hi everyone.

I would like to start my own list here.

Throughout my life I haven’t found this to be a question I could easily answer. & if I did say something, I would feel embarrassed about saying it.

A good example is that i liked that i could sing, & pretty well, too. i liked that i could, sort of by proxy, express emotions when I sang the songs I had learned. I liked the way I was able to learn the songs easily, too.

That was when I was younger, a least up to 22 years ago. Then my voice had changed & I couldn’t sing well anymore. More recently, I realised I can’t learn songs easily either. For some years, I stopped singing, not liking my voice, that it was unreliable.

Within the last year, I realised, I don’t feel embarrassed about my voice as it is now. I can & do still enjoy singing. I like the challenge of bringing my voice down an octave to I can sing all the notes of the melody. I like that I am able to like singing again. I lie that I can adapt to this change – even after so many years thinking I couldn’t, hating my voice so much, being angry about how it changed, feeling the loss of range & control like any other major loss in my life.

I like my new philosophy of ‘near enough is good enough’ which means I don’t have to be perfect to enjoy what I’m doing.

I like that I know I don’t have to be perfect.

I’m not sure if I can say ‘I like that I feel I’m good enough’, yet, but I do like how I feel I am heading in that direction.

& That’s not all in my ongoing list. I’ll add more later.

[Happily purring LRC]

mmMekitty 

[sbella02]

mmMekitty, what a beautiful thread, I'll come and be a part of it.

I've been feeling really down about myself lately, so let's see how this goes.

1. My resilience is slowly coming back. In uni right before that lovely pandemic happened, we did a resilience questionnaire that I then retook later in the year out of interest. It was very eye-opening to see how much it had dropped. I'd like to think that if I did it now at this point in my life, it would be a lot higher than it was a year or so ago.
2. My adaptability. I've learnt a lot of new independence skills in the past few years, and I've had to adapt very quickly to certain situations. It ties into resilience I suppose, but I'm grateful that I have the ability to be fairly flexible and adaptable as I move further into adulthood.
3. My work ethic. Even though I can be unmotivated on occasion, I generally have a high drive to achieve things and succeed, which I love. It's gotten me through a lot.

That's all I've got for now. What do you like about yourself mmMekitty?

SB

[quirkywords]

I like

that I am prepared to do this list

I like that I keep trying

I like that I am kind

i like that can relate to my inner child.

I like that sometimes my words helps others

[mmMekitty]

Fantastic SB. I would have liked to claim all of these when I was your age. 

The work ethic, the adaptability & the resilience all will thigs which will support you through difficult times. To be learning those things now is so wonderful. More power to you!

Hugzies

mmMekitty

P.S. LRC loved being able to enjoy food - her food, some of my food, things which technically weren't food, which she could catch or find ... 

[mmMekitty]

Hello Quirky. By rights, I ought to have wrote that I like that I am willing to write this list, too. My mind got a bit side-tracked, as it does. That can be okay, too, as this whole Discussion was inspired by me asking another BB member to try to write a list for themselves. Then I realised I hadn't done that for myself for ages! At least not since I thought I had nothing to like about myself. After that, I didn't want to answer again.

But here I am, willing & able! I really like that you are too.

I've seen some of your hard work, here on BB, writing to help yourself, to help others, giving so generously, with kindness & empathy.

I like the idea of the 'inner child', & feel my own is there, too. At first it was hard for me to acknowledge & 'see' her in my mind. At first I couldn't approach her as she was. Now, I like to include her in the fun I'm having when palying the word games, or in 'Last to Post Wins, or on Croix's ice berg ... wherever I/mmMekitten can get away with it! She's had to learn some boundaries., which are things I got confused about when I was young. Now I am teaching her! & I like that I can do that , too.

I'm feeling rather amazed how much I am liking about myself!

(P.S. SB: I don't know why my 2nd wasn't yet showing here when you came, read & posted. I had immediately copied & pasted my 2nd post straight after the intro post. It's there now. As you can already see, there will be more to follow!) 

[Eagle Ray]

Dear mmMeKitty

This is such a nice idea and I’m sure good for many of us to try and do. Trying to think of what I like about myself can lead me into a kind of excruciating embarrassment where I want to hide under a rock or curl up in a ball like an echidna. So it’s good to be prodded to be opened up a bit.

At the moment I can come up with that:

- I’m a friendly person and like people

- I’m nurturing and caring

- I’m interested in and curious about the world around me

- I have a sense of humour

- I want to pat every dog, cat, horse etc I meet (but check with them first so as to respect their space)

- I like giving and receiving hugs which I really need more of lately

- I’m sensitive and have empathy 

If you are LRC I recently fell in love with a grey, fluffy cat so maybe I’m GFC (not to be mistaken with Global Financial Crisis!)

[mmMekitty]

Love your list, ER/GFC (Not to be mistaken for Global Financial Crisis) [LRC laughs out loud enough for the neighbours to hear]

I can remember feeling embarrassed to even try to say something I liked about myself aloud, even to my PDr. Just by way of describing what it is about writing which I like, or saying I like some of the poems I've written. When I first joined the writers' group (no longer exists), how hard it was to share my writing with them there! It was confronting, but so rewarding when I did it.

I'm not writing so much now, but when I do, I still like how I can sit & get into some sort of flow or zone, & the words will be there, right where I want them.

LRC & I like having a sense of humour, too. 

Note: LRC, mmMekitten & mmMekitty are all the same, just different ages. Croix gave the monicer ''Little Red Cat' / 'LRC' to the me who sometimes plays & gets up to mischief on his iceberg. I like that I am able to play! Did I say that already? I substitue emojis with written desriptions for Croix, too, in the squared brackets.

Some things which you like about yourself I would like to like about myself too. If I liked people more, was more trusting & therefore could relax & be more friendly & could enjoy the wider world more - I think, overall, I'd be less anxious & feel happier.

mmMekitty

[Eagle Ray]

Dear mmMeKitty

That was lovely you were part of a writers’ group. It can be a really supportive space to share your self-expression. I did it too for a while and like you it wasn’t easy sharing my writing at first. In fact, I think I always got a bit scared, but at least less so over time. And yes it is rewarding too. I’ve always been a bit scared speaking in front of people, even a small group, so was a good thing for me to get practice at.

 I love that LRC gets up to mischief on Croix’s iceberg. Perhaps you could write a children’s book called the Little Red Cat and the Walrus?

When it comes to liking people, I’m simultaneously scared of them. So a weird kind of duality. So I struggle sometimes to open up, but with the right people with a friendly energy I seem to come out of my shell and enjoy engaging with them. But I totally understand the feeling of not trusting too. My first reaction with people is actually always fear and being on guard at first. I think sometimes you just need enough good interactions to start to feel safer and more able to trust.

 I thought you might like to know that the GFC I looked after has the most grumpy face, but actually isn’t. It’s quite hilarious 😂🐱

[Paw Prints]

Hello mmMekitty, wave to all,

Well I've found your thread...  this will be a slow work in progress for me as growing up I was taught not to talk about my myself & definitely not to say anything nice...

• I'm good with animals
• I'm always here for my family & friends
• I believe I have empathy for others

Paws