10 Things I Like About Myself: A Link-Up

A while back, I brought you guys a post titled "10 Things I Like About Myself." I wrote it flippantly thinking, hey maybe someone will be able to relate, but I had no idea I would get such an overwhelmingly positive response. So A) Thanks for being wonderful, and B) Because of your kindness, I've decided to turn this whole thing into a linkup. Today! Right now!

If you've not read the original post (here it is for your reference) it is essentially a critique of our culture's perplexing stance on confidence. I wrote it because, to me, there is a real danger when we confuse humility with putting ourselves down, and I think that this happens more often than we even realize. In attempting to steer away from arrogance, we end up bringing a lot of negativity into the world. All at once, we rebuke people for their vanity, yet we still want our sisters and daughters to think of themselves as beautiful. We offer affirmation to our friends, yet we withhold it from ourselves, turning down compliments from others and focusing on our shortcomings instead.

That was my life, anyway. People would say kind things, and I would deny them ("Hey girl, you did a great job!" "No way, I totally botched the whole thing."). This practice became an ugly force in my life. Suddenly all of the crappy things I'd say about myself became the crappy things I believed about myself until one day I just decided to say screw it -- I'd rather be totally full of myself than completely empty.

I believe this is a problem for others besides myself (in fact, I know for certain since so many of you responded with a resounding AMEN after my last post), and I also believe that doing something about it could really positively affect the world around us. Whether you believe your gifts and abilities are God-given (hey, that's what I believe!) or you don't, you're not doing the people around you any favors by diminishing your attributes with your words. In fact, to deny the good, beautiful things about you is to deny the world of them. Yep, I really think that.

But make no mistake, this is still an issue for me. Just the other day someone said they liked my pants and I mimed barfing all over them. What can I say? It's deeply-ingrained. I'm working on it.

So as a way to counteract that little voice in my head that still says that putting myself down is the better option, here are 10 MORE things I like about myself:

1. I'm creative. Look, I just drew this:

I am also apparently very good at drawing enormous feline breasts. You're welcome.

2. I'm honest. To a fault sometimes, sure, but better that than to be afraid of sharing my thoughts.
3. My glasses game is on point. I'm still not convinced that I didn't exit the womb wearing my Warby Parkers.

Frasier is less impressed with my spectacles.

4. I have no problem doing things on my own. Movies, dinners, museums -- I'm a boss when it comes to solo adventures.
5. I make people feel encouraged. I give my friends a lot of praise for the wonderful things I see in them.
6. I own up to my mistakes. When I've wronged someone, I simply cannot wait to say "I'm sorry."
7. I do things that the world would consider brave. Stand-up, improv, moving to New York City -- I'm basically Evel Knievel.
8. My singing voice is really pretty solid. 
9. I'm craftier than I give myself credit for. I've always thought that I wasn't a crafter, but hey, I made all of my Christmas gifts this year, and they were kind of fabulous.
10. I have passions that make the world a better place. I love writing, encouraging women, making art -- these are very good things that I think this planet needs a lot of.

While I know it might be tempting to simply congratulate me on those ten things (thank you, thank you), believe me, that's not what I'm looking for. What I'd love instead is for you to carry this torch. Write down 10 things you like about yourself, link-up with this post, share it (#LikeYourself), and tell your friends to do the same. Let's make this a movement of celebrating the things that make us unique, and then let's use those things to enrich the lives of others.

Feel free to use the picture below and link back to this post! I can't wait to read all of the wonderful things you have to say about yourself.

An InLinkz Link-up