As I promised yesterday, today I’m going to present you, dear Readers, a before-sleep exercise, which effectiveness I have checked on my own skin.

At first, it might seem obvious, awkward, stupid or pointless, but believe me, I had doubts as well but the results made me forget about them all! This is especially a great exercise for those with low self-esteem or the lack of confidence. It might even help with decision making problems, as i’ve noticed on my own experience.

The whole point is to aknowledge your own achievements. Every single day we achieve many things which we might even not consider achievements at all. But in order to build our self-confidence, the aknowledgement of all these small successes is absolutely crucial!

So please do not laugh nor fear this challenge, just try it and see how it works for you. You should do it in the evening, before you go to sleep. Just stand in front of a mirror and look deep into your eyes. Then, address yourself by your own name and tell the person in the mirror all the reasons you appreciate him/her. If it’s the first time you’re doing it, you might even go back in time and appreciate yourself for your previous successes like graduating from high school, winning a competition or having the courage to approach a person you liked. If you prefer, you can concentrate on the current day. Appreciate yourself for whatever small success you can think of, whether it is a physical or a spiritual one. Also, it’s important that you say it out loud (or at least whispering, but not just thinking about it) and that you are confident with what you’re saying and you really believe in it. It’s going to get easier every time you do it and you might even notice the change in your posture. In the end of this exercise say the most important three words ‘I love you’ looking, again, straight into your eyes. It might seem odd and counter-intuitive at first. After all, most of us have been taught to be humble and compliant through our lives. However, I believe that it’s important to have this support and acceptance from your own self. You are the one with whom you’re left when all the others let you down. Once you know that you love yourself unconditionally, you’ll become invincible! 😉

I’ve been doing this exercise for a week or so and I can already see the significant changes. I have more confidence in myself, keeping in mind my achievements every day and I care less and less about other people’s opinions. This has also built my courage to try new things and ideas despite previous doubts. This is also one of the reasons why I’ve started this blog! And another positive influence is the fact that for some reason I feel happier. Every single day I wake up with a smile on my face even though apart from this exercise my daily routines haven’t changed at all. I’m guessing that it might be because somewhere at the back of my mind I finally know for sure that I am loved.

I hope that I’ve convinced you to at least try it out. Just try doing it every single evening for a week and let me know your results!

If  you’re planning to do it out loud, it might be a good idea to warn your flatmates/family in case they catch you talking to yourself in front of a mirror and think you’ve gone mad!

See you soon!

M