#50: Do You Like Yourself?

Recently I heard a conversation between two young teenage girls. One was trying to convey how she had felt about something that had happened. "And, I was like...So she goes, like...And then I was like..." I'm sure you've heard similar remarks.

While it may appear that the art of conversation might be, like, you know, like waning, her comments did get me thinking about the word 'like."And what I wondered was: If I wasn't me, would I like myself?

Would I?

I think I would. I consider myself a person of some intellect with a well-developed sense of humor, a curiosity about many things, kind, considerate, polite and, well...you get the picture. I think I'm an OK person. Just as you probably think of yourself.

Then I began thinking of my closest friends, people I've known for years, and wondered why I enjoy their company. Actually, why I crave our time together and the cards and emails and telephone calls we exchange.

I think it's because we share the same personality traits. I'm comfortable with myself and I'm comfortable with them. This doesn't imply that we don't enjoy being with people whose lives are different than ours. Just that we feel more comfortable with known factors and routines. And, our friends are known commodities. We know what they are like and how they will react. Which is pretty much the way we would react to something.

What does this have to do with our attempts at weight loss and better health?

I wonder if we are ready for the new person we will become when we reach our final goals. We'll be different physically, often drastically. We will also be different mentally and emotionally. We will be more confident and self-assured and likely more outgoing. We may think we won't change, but don't we already feel different about ourselves when we lose just a few pounds?

The point I'm trying to make, perhaps clumsily, is if we do not like ourselves now how will we enjoy the new us when we reach our final weight loss goal? How can we expect others to like and respect us in the future, if we don't like ourselves now?

The self-respect we will need starts now, today. Believe in yourself, now. Have faith in yourself, now. Have respect for yourself, now.

And ask yourself one question: Am I someone I would like as a friend if I wasn't me?