Recently (in September, after the easiest person to help move left for school) my dad moved from the city to a small island in the Puget Sound. Where it’s nowhere near as remote as Nim’s Island (comment if you remember that movie), it is still very different than city life. For Thanksgiving break this week (a week off from school! Yay!) I am home and living with my dad in the building we called out cabin when I was growing up. Now it’s apparently the house.
With everything that’s shared on the media lately, it’s easy to start to compare yourself to others. And with this comparison often comes the thought that some part of us isn’t good enough. It’s all too easy to come up with things we hate about ourselves, especially during a time associated with sharing memories and being social. What about liking ourselves? It isn’t conceited to love yourself. And yet we have been convinced that if we say something remotely positive about ourselves, we will come across as arrogant and the world will end. I say we challenge that belief. Self-love and self appreciation are important for life. In a time of being grateful for others, we mustn’t forget to be grateful for ourselves.
Good morning, afternoon, evening, or whenever it is that you’re reading this. It could be in the middle of the night for all I know! In fact, I might be glad that someone else sometimes stays up all night to peruse the internet from time to time. We all do it; I won’t judge.
Given that it’s the week before Thanksgiving, I thought it would be the perfect time to delve into some psychology. Positive psychology is the study of psychology where, instead of studying what makes humans unhappy and different, it focuses on what makes us happier. Gratitude is a large part of positive psychology. Continue reading “Benefits of Giving Thanks”