Day 1

Few weeks ago, my wife called me and said: “Honey, do you think this year was my best year ever in business?” I said: “Yes. Compare your results with last year this time and you can see this year has been your best year ever!” She said, “But I have not fully achieved my goals, so I am hesitant to reward myself and celebrate my success.” I responded, “Well, this means that you do not appreciate yourself and your accomplishments enough. You want to wait until every single goal is achieved. But that is not how it works. Just look back and count the number of achievements you have had so far.” She said, “I know because I write all my dreams and goals in my dream book every day and I have fulfilled many of them. But I am still hesitant to reward myself with something that I really like.” I said, “What is it?” She said, “A family trip to Mexico during Christmas holidays!” I said, “Just do it. Appreciate yourself. Let’s reward ourselves with a great gift like the trip to Mexico.”

And we did it. We booked our flight and an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. It felt great because we did it for what we have achieved so far this year. Later my wife said, “I am very glad that we did this. We deserved it. Our kids deserved it.” And it brought a smile on my face.

How frequently do you appreciate yourself? Have you ever done that?

It is interesting that we tend to appreciate others far more than appreciating ourselves. We tend to be hard on ourselves when it comes to counting our blessings. We tend to underrate our achievements but to overrate other people’s achievements! We forget to look back and see how far we have come considering the challenges we have faced and the difficulties we have experienced.

Today, I want you to appreciate yourself first. To give yourself a hug and say, “Thank You, [your name here]!”. No matter how the life has been this year or how much progress or hardship you have experienced, you and I should be grateful for being alive and having time to make a difference moving forward.

In addition to saying “Thank You, [your name here]!”, challenge yourself further and give yourself an extra gift. A banquet of flowers, a Thank You! Greeting card, a box of your favorite chocolates, a massage, a relaxed day, a trip to your favorite place, etc. Something that shows your real appreciation for life and for yourself.

Would you do that my friend? We all know that appreciation works. It has a great positive impact. But you don’t need to wait for others to appreciate you. Give yourself permission and appreciate yourself so you can attract appreciation from others without ever asking for it or expecting it!

Once you are done with appreciating yourself, name 3 people without thinking too much and send them an appreciation note via text, social media, email, or a greeting card. Just thank them for who they are and the way they have helped you be the person you are today. It will go a long way.

Would you take on this challenge?

Please leave your comments and questions in the comment box below. I really like to hear from you.

Also, I appreciate if you share this message with your connections and encourage them to participate in the 7-day challenge series.

Until tomorrow with the second day of our 7-day challenge, live the life of your dreams and make a difference consistently.

Kamran Akbarzadeh, PhD

Founder of Dream Achievers Academy

Author of award-winning books, Leadership Soup and Get What You Want