The Art Of Feeling Good About Yourself Is Priceless

Being good about yourself is priceless. Such psychological art requires two achievements: reconciling with the past to extinguish certain disappointments, and stopping obsessing about the future to calm anxieties. Feeling good is, above all, learning to think correctly, focusing on a gift to mold an inner peace that no one should disturb.

Certainly we all agree with these statements. However, why is it difficult for us to find that inner balance with which we feel full, can enjoy what we have and what characterizes us? Whether we like it or not, there is always something that fails, something that screams at us and prevents us from experiencing lasting well-being, that doesn’t end and remains firm, regardless of anything.

The world of psychology has always focused its efforts on facilitating this same goal. However, and everything must be said, its beginnings were a bit complex. For a long time, his theories and strategies sought to understand almost exclusively the most pathological universe. And so it was until the late 1970s, when figures like Martin Seligman or Aaron T. Beck brought about revolutionary change.

Martin Seligman, known for his studies of depression and learned helplessness, found it necessary to focus the field of psychology on a new side: happiness. Aaron T. Beck, on the other hand, a pioneer in cognitive therapy, also taught us something paramount:  to be good about yourself, you need a certain positive filter when looking outward…and inward as well.

Acceptance, the key to personal well-being

Epictetus said in his “Handbook for Life” that people often insist on wanting life to fit their desires. It is an almost childish effort, and capable of generating great frustration, so he, who was the most representative Stoic of his time, recommended that we learn, simply, to desire things as they are.

The art of feeling good about yourself is therefore the practice of acceptance. Now, acceptance is not synonymous with passivity or renunciation. The trick, in fact, is easier than it sounds and requires us to invest our efforts in a series of achievements:

• Accept the downside of things as they happen, so you have the opportunity to take control  and generate change. For example, it is essential that we can quickly perceive our limiting and negative thoughts before they fully dominate our mind and focus.

• Accept what you are, accept your past and present history, accept this person who is reflected in the mirror every day, with their virtues and their faults, and try to validate yourself without having to wait for others to do it for you.

Feeling good about yourself means knowing how to practice a type of acceptance where we have active control over our thoughts. Perhaps our surroundings, and even the people who are part of our closest context, do not always act as we wish. However, none of this should exasperate us, because if there is an inner calm, if there is self-love and balance, there will be no cloud that will be able to extinguish the sun within us.

Appreciating and feeling good about yourself is priceless

Personal appreciation is an exercise as useful as it is unknown. It is possible that a person will discover it over time, only when they realize that they neglected themselves a long time ago and began to have the feeling that they are almost like a pawn on a chessboard, initially of little value and no one remembers . We want to be the “Queen”, but for that it is necessary to remember what we are worth and the role we play in the game of life.

We can achieve all of this through intelligent personal appreciation, that is, feeling a part of everything we do and being satisfied with every act we do. So, and before we talk about having more control over our thoughts, now  is the time to learn to value yourself through our daily dynamics.

Let’s look at some examples.

• Feeling good about yourself means being selective with the people we choose, with those who will be part of our trip.
• Feeling good about yourself also means having a sense of self-efficacy, appreciating ourselves for our daily successes and small accomplishments.
• It also means having consistency between what we say and do, with what we want and what we do.

Also, we can’t overlook something important:  being okay with who you are and what you have is mostly about convenience. Because the feeling of freedom and agility that we enjoy in some people, even in pieces of ourselves, comes from the weightlessness of our backs.

Nothing is as satisfying as this feeling; knowing that there are no weights of the past or chains that others have placed at our feet to impede our movements and opportunities for growth. Let us not, therefore, neglect this art of feeling good about oneself,  a practice that requires great will and determination on our part.