The Pursuit of PERFECTION vs SELF APPRECIATION

Do you feel you work hard, but feel you need to work even harder?

Do you feel sometimes that you will never achieve your goal, that nobody notices your achievements or your value and you start wondering if you have any?

Do you feel that good is never good enough?

I recently saw a post on FB that got me thinking – it was from an accomplished fitness professional who was expressing her insecurities in terms of her own physique in an industry which constantly promotes and asks for perfection!

It got me thinking... why do we do what we do?

Is perfection ‘body perfect’ attainable? The simple answer is NO!

Does this mean that we should not strive to be better... not at all, the goal for self improvement is admirable and fuels us and give us the energy and drive to be more and do more – whether it be improving your physique or any other area of your life!

However I personally believe that the goal should not be perfection but SELF APPRECIATION.

Learning to appreciate one's self is a necessary step to develop self-esteem and confidence. Although initial physical attraction might capture our attention, it is these two traits that in my opinion ooze appeal and will hold your attention (obviously combined with other factors). When one can truly appreciate themselves, he/she will typically live a fuller and happier life. The following steps will help in the process of developing self-appreciation.

NOTE: You will see that many of the actions below would also be on the list of those seeking PERFECTION – the difference? Self appreciation acknowledges the achievement in the 'doing' rather than in the comparison to others.

• Take good care of yourself. It sounds simple but is not necessarily an easy thing to do. You have to be consistent and disciplined in your effort.

• Eat right and exercise regularly. A healthy lifestyle will positively affect the way you perceive yourself.

• Find time to relax. When you have time to relax, you will have less stress and ultimately will be happier.

• Accept yourself for who you are. Your perception of yourself will reflect how you act and behave.

• Think good thoughts. Increase your knowledge and seek continuous learning. The more you learn, the more confident you are.

• Avoid comparing yourself to others. Most of the time, you will tend to compare your weaknesses to the other person's strengths. Comparing is counterproductive to the idea of developing self appreciation. Remember, you have nothing to prove to others, just yourself.

• Develop your talents and share them. As you become better and continue to share your abilities, other's appreciation for your skills will increase. This, in turn, will lead to greater self-appreciation.

• Learn to forgive yourself and others. You will release a burden off your chest and will be happier and more productive.

• Count your blessings. List everything you are grateful for and you will be surprised at the number of positive things in your life. If nothing else, this will help you realize that you are better off than a lot of other people. Appreciate this good fortune.

The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated - It is not a luxury, but pure necessity if you want to connect to your inner peace and move on in life with renewed energy, strength and confidence.

We all are humans and from time to time we are faced either from within ourselves or outside with criticisms, problems, difficulties or setbacks.

Appreciation starts from within, it is a reflection of how you feel about yourself and then mirrored from outside, through other people… also when you might think others don't see the value in you, it is not always the truth. The more you are able appreciate yourself, the more you will be able to appreciate others and in return you will see more people starting to appreciate you.

It is good to be an achiever and thrive for success in life, however if you never take time to sit back, collect and recognize all those amazing achievements however big or small, you will  have a feeling of never arriving and lose contentment with yourself, so it becomes hard to reach inner peace.

Life is not a destination, it is a journey - enjoy the ride and appreciate it.

Take some time to celebrate your life so far, the benefits are too great to be missed; it starts from within then radiates and expands outwards. You can connect with your inner peace and feel contentment with yourself TODAY!

Now go DO...