Do you ever feel like you are your own worst enemy? Drugs. Drinking. Overeating, and nasty behavior can seriously lower how you feel about yourself. Sometimes that’s the point. Trauma throughout your life can make you feel like you don’t deserve to be attractive, socially satisfied or financially stable. You may need professional help to totally turn this attitude around, but there are also some things you can do on your own.

Appreciate You Every Day of Your Life

You might be wondering what there is to appreciate, or maybe you associate your good points with something bad. Don’t discount your abilities. You may not be using them for the best things right now, but you can always change. Remember, baby steps make things possible.

Let’s look at Jay. He’s everyone’s favorite guy. Cute. Funny. Outwardly confident. Those traits got him a place with the local dealer supplying drugs to society’s upper crust, and he’s making loads of money. He’s also constantly worrying about the police, and the women in his life don’t take him very seriously.

He’s still personable, funny, and knows how to make himself look presentable. Those are skills he can use in many fields to be successful, but it takes recognizing them first.

After looking at your life you may still see nothing worth celebrating. Journal. At the end of each day write down a play-by-play of everything you did from waking up to lying down. Somewhere buried among the bathroom breaks and playing solitaire on the computer at work, you’ll find something you affected in a positive way. Maybe you held the door open on the elevator (courteous) or you walked home instead of hailing a cab (healthy choices, and adventurous).

Evaluate Your Interests

Anyone who has ever raised a puppy knows all about boredom, and destructive behavior. It may be your routine is driving you to create chaos, because inevitably chaos creates change.

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