learning to like yourself

do NOT post if you're gonna say 'there's nothing i like' or 'i wish i could relate to this thread' or any kind of that I'm So Terrible bullshit, because i am tired of certain posts that publicly perpetuate one's own sadness for likes

what is a quality of yourself (physical. emotional or so forth) that you've learned to appreciate as the years have gone by? what did it take in order to develop this feeling, and how do you feel about this quality nowadays, compared to how you felt before?

we're gonna talk about GROWTH!

when I wake up everyday, despite my unfortunate self-deprication, I somehow manage to summon the willpower to tackle each day as it comes. depression knocks me down over and over again. sometimes it can be rather overwhelming; i mean, there are times where i don't even feel like getting out of bed! but i think, as the years have gone by, i've developed my own coping mechanisms of sorts of dealing with it. granted, these coping mechanisms aren't perfect, but learning to manage and cope and constantly deal with one own's mental illness on a day-to-day basis shows some degree of fortitude, if i do say so myself. this, combined with multiple other factors that would ordinary be overwhelming that i just kind of... deal with without giving it much thought.

it's this emotional prowess of muscling through each day as it comes in the hopes of something better. my emotional resilience, despite how it may appear at times, can be my greatest strength while simultaneously being my greatest weakness.

i think that.. me being so kind and nice to everyone is something i have learned to appreciate about myself. i'm not like.. uwu fake wholesome. i try to be genuinely nice and caring to everyone i meet. i think.. me getting knocked down and bullied and going through the harsh years of my mental illness (and still constantly going through it of course) made me develop it. i try to help everyone when i can and i try to be there for everyone. (sometimes at the cost of my mental health but im trying to work on that).

i like being nice and kind to everyone. it's nice. it makes me feel well liked. i also like that despite how bad my mental illness can be i still try to push through it and keep a positive mental attitude. i try to have better coping mechanisms now and talk to people when i feel really bad, or distract myself instead of going to my one really bad unhealthy coping mechanism that ive had since i was 13.

i think ive grown a lot as a person. i dont quite 100% like myself, but i am slowly but surely getting there. its a long road to recovery, and some days i will stumble. but i will get through this!!

sorry this was a bit of an all over the place answer.

I've gotten more open-minded, I guess. There hasn't been a whole lot of growth because I'm like a pea in a very comfortable, insulated pod, and change needs impetus. So until there is a requirement for strength and vigour and inexhaustible wit, I'm going to stay a twat. Unless, of course, I create the impetus myself. All the best people seem to.

I'm kinder, though. That's worth a lot, even if there's an undercurrent beneath it which is particularly frightening at night. There are so many god damn knives around the place, I swear.

And I used to be pretty 'bleurgh' in the old face department, because baby fat was profuse and my features were exaggerated, but nowadays I've got a lot more confidence in myself. Things have shaped out, like how people always told me they would, and now the mirror does not distress me into catatonia. One day, I looked into one and discovered that there was a jaw in it, and that it's only going to get more defined as I age. Huzzah!

I've also learned to appreciate my eyebrows. They're my best friends in a world of woe.

Hmmm...

I've been through all kinds of hell both physical and mental and I still have goals and aspirations that I am determined to achieve. Even though I'm generally on the edge of my tether I adamantly refuse to give up on all the things I want to achieve. I'm proud of my determination and I think it's one of my better traits.

I'm happy af. Usually it's contagious. I like people who are like that, so eventually I came to the conclusion that I should then logically also like myself for that aspect.

Not to sound conceited but I like quite a lot about myself. I think I'm smart, caring, nice looking, and I love my ability to get on with others. However the thing that I like most about myself right now is I have become so much more comfortable with my sexuality. I used to question it for years but finally accepting it has made me much more confident all around.

I value the fact that I work hard. It was not always a trait of mine as I used to believe in the misconception that performing well (in school or other areas such as hobbies) did not require hard work. I used to believe that it was talent and some people were just born more capable than others which meant I often felt discouraged if I wasn't immediately great at what I tried. However I realise now from both experience and witnessing parents and fellow peers that it is the effort you put in that shows and I've tried to apply that to my own life. If I want to be successful and perform well there is no short cut - it's what you put in and now I am thankful that my parents have ingrained that into me. I'm proud of how hard I work despite issues with both mental and physical health.

I also like that I am a supportive person - I care a lot about my friends and want the absolute best for them, and to see them grow. One of the nicest compliments I ever received was that I always brightened up the room and I would like to hope I can make people's days better unintentionally. :D

I'll try any food once.
I keep an open mind.
I'm very giving.
You could probably convince me to like anything.

I know I said it in one of your other threads, but once again, I have to say my autism. I've learned to accept that I'm autistic, and I love expressing myself in different ways. I like being different because being normal is just overrated these days. I also don't really care what people think of me, and I've learned to just love what I do and do what I love. :3

My determination and unwilling to give up. There are days where I have my breaking point and ask myself if it's all worth it, but I eventually shake that feeling off and focus on the task at hand.

I don't think I could point to any part of my personality that I like. ok I know the whole point of the thread is to not say stuff like that but in the past whenever I had qualities about myself that I'd hold in high esteem I'd invariably end up insecure/competetive about it and constantly feeling jealous over it. Nowadays my perspective has shifted a lot, I don't compare myself to people - well I still do, but it's done pragmatically, in a sort of "this is what the competition looks like, I should probably set my career expectations realistically, contingent on how I perform" kind of way. rather than caring about how successful/great I become I've started to focus a lot on just living my life to whatever limited extent that I can.

I focus on enjoying my passions (mainly mathematics!), I read books that move me, watch cool films, listen to fun music, play the piano, cherish my friendships and memories - both positive and negative ones. I don't think I'm any happier for it but it's been a rich experience nonetheless and to me that's much more important. I think it's been less to do with liking myself and more to do with no longer having a toxic mindset, maybe that still counts as appreciating some quality about myself idk. I guess I appreciate the fact that I'm alive and priviliged enough to be able to devote my time to activities with no practical value

I ended up liking my own voice after hearing it in recording.

I'm self sacrificing to a fault. I will always put others before myself, even if it comes at my own expense. That may not be a "good" thing per se, but seeing other people happy brings me more joy that being happy myself and I will work tirelessly to fix (or just be present for) the problems of my friends.

I'm a painfully natural empath and, even if I don't always vocalize it, I do very literally feel what you feel to the best of my emotional experience and depth. When I care about people, I do so unconditionally.

Lastly, I'm an artist and I work very hard to improve everyday. I am determined to put my all into being the best artist I can be, and that's ten-fold of it means my art can bring happiness to others.