12 Things To Thank Yourself For Before The End Of This Year

All of us remember to thank others when they do something for us, but did you ever stop to consider that there might be many things to thank yourself for before the end of this year? It is important to take care of yourself, especially when it is likely that people around you might forget to do that.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, we are ready to say thanks to the people close to our hearts. But you are the most important person in your life, responsible for making choices and sacrifices, so you firstly need to be grateful to yourself and deserve an acknowledgement for all those commendable things you did this year. Let’s begin!

12 Things To Thank Yourself For Before The Year Ends

1. 1Thank Yourself for Having the Courage to Say NO

It is not essential to always be a yes person and try to please everyone all the time. You need to live for yourself, so don’t let the fear of rejection or disapproval stop you from saying no.

• When you said ‘no’ where the expected response was a ‘yes’ or agreement, you were actually valuing your opinion over others’ opinion about you.
• Be proud of your integrity and courage and thank yourself.
• There is nothing selfish or unkind about saying no, as you cannot lead your life depending on approval of others.

2. 2Thank Yourself for Being a Better Person

Were you mindful, caring or appreciative while interacting with someone this year? Research shows that kindness can actually make you happier!

• Did you slow down for a few seconds to allow some stranger into traffic. You just set a positive ripple effect, which could make dozens of other people happy. Time to thank yourself.
• Did you call a sick friend or spend some time with him/her? Or did you acknowledge other people on the sidewalk just with a good morning, a nod, a smile while walking to work? It’s a free and simple act of kindness and it required no special skill or money. All of us have it.
• You became a better person by your small acts of kindness and it could have made a huge difference for the recipient.

3. 3Thank Yourself for Trying your Best

You failed, but you tried your best! Give yourself a pat for it.

• It is not your success or what you have accomplished that determines your worth, but the effort that you have put in towards your goal that does.
• You might have failed and suffered but don’t look at these failures and victimise yourself. Congratulate yourself instead.
• You showed a lot of strength in overcoming situations and were fueled to continue ahead with power, strength and continued tenacity.

(Source: quotediaries.com)

4. 4Thank Yourself for Asking for a Salary Hike

If you asked for a raise this year, congratulations! Never mind whether you got the raise or not, you still deserve to thank yourself.

• Asking for a raise is nerve wracking, because the fear of rejection is playing on your mind all the time. You were prepared for being turned down, which itself is commendable.
• You have valued yourself and considered it worthy of a hike, coming up with some magic number.
• You did not wait passively for someone to notice your excellent work and offer a raise.
• You were in charge and make a proactive move to push your career forward. You did not sit back and wait for someone else to make this important decision for you.

5. 5Thank Yourself for Fulfilling a Dream

Did you make an attempt to fulfill a longstanding dream? Again, never mind whether you made the dream come true or failed at it. For instance, you dreamt you would own a beach house one day!

• It shows you had the guts and confidence to chase your dream instead of giving up.
• You made time for it and always remember, the Universe always has your back! Thank yourself for taking the first baby steps towards your dream.
• You committed yourself to your dream, you felt you were right and tried to fulfill it, instead of just closing the lid on your beach house.

(Source: seankingstons.blogspot.com)

6. 6Thank Yourself for Being Strong/Patient

If you were strong at some point during the year, it shows that you are an optimistic person. Instead of screaming and running away from your problems, you stood your ground and tackled it strongly. Time to thank yourself for it!

• Many circumstances in life can break you, but when you were going through a hard time and stayed strong.
• You realised that the hard times would soon be over and good times would follow. This too shall pass!
• Maybe you were stuck in a traffic jam. You were angry and frustrated. But instead of banging your fist on the dashboard or screaming at other drivers, you reminded yourself that there were thousands of others stuck with you and traffic jams occur all the time. You stayed calmly and patiently waiting for the cars to move again. Congratulations!

7. 7Thank Yourself for Following Your Heart’s Desire

Many of us stifle our dreams early on in life and then realize later with a shock that life seems to be passing us by at a fast pace.You cannot wait any more to follow your heart’s desire. Did you do that this year?

• You probably went out and bought that cello which you were eyeing right from fourth grade? You found a teach or taught yourself and now you have a decent vibrato and can play reasonably well. Well, good for you! Pat yourself!
• You have given yourself a sweet victory and life suddenly seems to be beautiful.
• The desire was strong in your heart but it seemed impossible to realize it. You contemplated for a long time over it, but it was something your heart desired.
• You pushed hard, you went out of your comfort zone and believed in yourself.
• You crushed your inner demons and followed your heart. Instead of listening to others, you listened to yourself. You followed your dreams without stepping on anyone else to get there.
• You are powerful now because you know what you want and are bold enough to face the challenges to achieve your desire, simple as it may be.

8. 8Thank Yourself for Trying out a New Hobby

You have a long to do list but you still managed to pick up a new hobby this year.

• The new hobby helped relieve stress and offered you a novel way to express yourself.
• You enjoy doing it and it brought you a rush of joy and happiness.
• Maybe, it even opened you up to new friendships and meet other people with similar interests.
• You faced challenges in your new hobby and this stimulated your mind and boosted your confidence. Great reasons for thanking yourself this year.

9. 9Thank Yourself for Forgiving Someone

Whether it was a spouse who let you down, a parent, a child or a friend, you had the heart to forgive him/her and forget about it.

• You felt wronged and aggrieved. You fought with yourself about forgiving and letting yourself heal or keeping the anger within.
• You forgave the person and might have even gone further to work on the relationship and now everything is fine.
• You might not have forgotten the incident and may not have included the person in your life, but you have still forgiven the act and the person and accepted reality. You did not do it for the other person but for yourself. You deserve a big hug!

10. 10Thank Yourself for Asking for Help

You might think asking for help is a sign of weakness or inability. Not true! On the contrary, it is a sign of strength.

• You had the courage to overcome your ego and ask someone for help.
• You fought against presenting the image of a strong and capable person who has everything under control at all times.
• Even the most efficient and capable person needs help at some time in life.
• It could be something small like asking someone to share the household chores with you or it could be something major like stepping back from a big project at work and asking for assistance.

11. 11Thank Yourself for Taking Public Transportation

You played your part in reducing your city congestion by taking public transportation to work! Notch up points for yourself.

• Public transportation is not as comfortable as your car and not half as convenient.
• You sacrificed your independence for some reason or the other and traveled the public way.
• You played your role in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
• You met new people, enjoyed the video and reduced stress levels.
• You also saved money, so how much more convincing do you need? Time for applause.

12. 12Thank Yourself for Accepting Your Mistake

It is hard to accept one’s mistakes, but you did it. You said sorry, which is the most difficult word to say. Apologising is never going out of style. It always adds a feather in your cap.

• It could be at your workplace or with your family. You could have hurt someone and realising your mistake, you apologised and made up.
• You took responsibility for your blunder and took a huge step forward by apologising, and not finding excuses or blaming circumstances.
• If you did it face time instead of apologising on email or by phone, all the better reason to thank yourself for it. This is because your body language can convey the message far better than your voice or words can.

Wrap Up

So, when was the last time you looked into the mirror and thanked yourself for something you did that you were proud of? We are busy giving our love and appreciation to those around us, but rarely stop and think whether we should actually offer some of the appreciation to ourselves as well.

There are so many little things that we do all through the year, which make us or others around us happy. These could be the smallest things that would normally go unnoticed, but they might have brought a smile to the face of loved ones and strangers. Well, it is these little things that you need to thank yourself for this year. Be yourself and like yourself. You don’t own others any explanation but you owe yourself respect.