AMID all the ongoing "instant expert analyses" of the 2nd Sona of President Rodrigo Duterte, it is evident that change has begun - regardless of what the non-believers say. Allow me therefore to share another piece from Bo Sanchez entitled "What Do You Like About You?" that may help us contribute to the ultimate goal of genuine personal change. Happy reading…
"I have an exercise for you: write down 25 things you like about yourself. I did this one time and couldn't stop at 25. I ended up writing 67 things I like about myself. And since the list is in my journal, I plan to keep adding onto it until I reach 100. We need to start thanking God for who we are. Do start writing your 25. Celebrate who you are. This will change your perception of who you are. All of a sudden, you realize how special you are. And slowly, you'll start liking yourself a lot. Let me tell you why this is very important…
A few years ago, when my son was a bit younger, I remember one afternoon when I was swamped with work. I had so many articles to write, so many meetings to plan, so many business concerns… But my wife said, "Please bring Francis to the barbershop. He'll be a ring bearer.” (That's the disadvantage of having a cute son. He gets to be ring bearer a lot.) So I put aside all my work in the afternoon and brought him to the barber.
After the haircut, I was thinking that we were going back home so I could work. That was when Francis said, "Daddy, I'm hungry.”
So we marched to his favorite restaurant and he ate chicken and rice at 4 p.m. Again, as we were leaving, I was presuming I could now go back to work. But Francis tugged on my arm again and said, "Daddy, I'm still hungry.” My gosh. Where does this little guy put all that food?
Later on, I realized he was hungry not for food but for love. Specifically, he was hungry for Daddy's love. So we kept on walking, visiting other shops, until he saw a playground. His eyes grew large and said, "Daddy, can I play?” I believe life is about moments. So I bought myself a cup of coffee (just because it fit the entire scene), sat on a park bench, and enjoyed watching my son jump from one slide to another.
We had the grandest time. Why did I disrupt my whole afternoon for Francis? Because I'm his father and he's my son. He's more important than all my work. He's more important than all my ministries. He's more important than all the books I write and all the talks I give.
Friend, this is the ultimate reason why you need to like yourself. Because you have a Father who loves you so much. You're more important than all the stars in the sky. You're more important than all the galaxies of this universe. In the heart of God, nothing compares with you. If He loves you this much, how can you not like yourself?"
"You demonstrate love by giving it unconditionally to yourself. And, as you do, you attract others into your life who are able to love you without conditions" ~ Paul Ferrini
"Once we understand how God sees us through Christ, we can refrain from caring what people think about us, and feeling bad about ourselves. We don't have to be addicted to their approval, because we already have God's" ~ Joyce Meyer
"The more you recognize and express gratitude for the things you have, the more things you will have to express gratitude for" ~ Zig Ziglar