saying YES to being kind to myself [a co-created list]

a wee paper YES collage

I recently made a commitment to myself to do something kind for myself every day in the year 2011. It might seem obvious to some people that one should do this but, in truth, I am honestly not that great at it. I beat myself up a lot and often don’t make sure I have everything I need to thrive. I realized that any commitments I’ve had a hard time keeping in the past are directly related to not being kind to myself, to not really loving myself. Kindness seems tangible and quantifiable so I thought I’d make a list of what that looks like. What does it mean to be kind to myself?

One bit of kindness I allowed myself was to go to First Thursday at Pioneer Square here in Seattle to view some art with my youngest daughter, Gigi. I brought my journal with me so as we waited for our bus to come, I asked Gigi to help me write a list of kind things I can do for myself. She was super helpful and I knew I would get something wonderful and pure by asking an eight-year old. What follows are mostly her ideas and a few of mine.

Love myself.
Speak kindly to myself.
Take warm baths.
Treat myself with respect.
Drink plenty of water.
ENJOY LIFE.
Keep myself healthy.
Be kind to my body.
ENJOY TREATS and TOYS.
Don’t say, “I’m a bad person.”
Have fun!
Do stuff that makes me feel good.
Believe in myself.
Tell myself I’m beautiful.
Say NO to bad stuff and bad people.
Avoid mean people.
Say YES to what is good.
Be myself.
Find what I need. (One of my faves from Gigi. When I asked her what she meant, she said, “Just whatever you need, you should try to find it.”)
Be free!
Play more.
Laugh a lot.
Stay warm. (This seems obvious but I often forget this.)
Allow myself to receive goodness.
Allow and cultivate balance in my life.
Make space for creativity.
Dwell in the present moment.
Choose joy and curiosity.

Do you have any ideas to share? I’d love to hear them.