EPISODE 013: WRITING A THANK YOU LETTER TO YOURSELF
Since Thanksgiving is this week, I’m gonna continue with the Gratitude theme for just a little bit longer.
Last week I had the pleasure of being a guest on the podcast It’s Hertime with my Cody Sanders and Jess Toolson. It was seriously so much fun to switch things up a little bit and be on someone else’s show! The episode was also recorded for IGTV (click to watch the recording)
One thing I mentioned was the idea of writing a thank you note, but with a little bit of a twist…..
Instead of writing a letter to someone else….you write the letter to yourself. I know, it sounds weird but since we talked about it last week on their show and then Jess decided to challenge their listeners to do it themselves, I wanted to expand on the idea a little bit.
In this episode:
We thank and show appreciation for other people all the time, when was the last time you took time to THANK YOURSELF. EVER?
It’s a complete understatement that this year has been one for the books. As moms we’ve taken on so much. I mean sooooo much. We’ve been stretched in ways we never anticipated and this year has turned out completely different than how any of us imagined.
If ANYONE needs a thank you letter or note of gratitude and encouragement….IT’S YOU!
And there’s no better person to write that letter than you.
The coolest part about this exercise is that it’s designed to help you get a completely new perspective on just how truly amazing and bad ass you are. I mean, we give this validation to others in our lives that we value- shouldn’t we value ourselves enough to give credit when we do the hard things or something awesome or accomplish something?
So with this self love challenge I want you to step into best friend mode. The best friend who has been there this year, seen the good, the bad, and the ugly but wants to say THANK YOU and you are so freaking amazing anyway.
So what goes into this letter to yourself? Anything you want!
How long should it be? However long you want?
It can be a quick statement like : I’m thankful for my _______. Or I want to thank myself for_______ or Dear self, thank you for_________.
There are no rules for this, just a new fun self love, self gratitude practice.
And I know since this can feel super weird here are some guidelines or ideas to get your started.
1. Get a birds eye view. Honestly try to step outside yourself and see you from the outside. But with the insiders scoop.
2. Start with the beginning of the year and go chronologically if that helps. Or start with bullet points- or just start writing- and let the words come. Don’t worry about being perfect or grammatically correct, just let the words flow.
3. Think of some of the key hard things that you overcame or the things you think you did really well.
4. Get specific. The more specific, the more impactful. Dear self, thank you for being strong. Go deeper.
5. Cover a wide array of topics. It could be related to things you’ve done or changes you’ve made. Challenges you’ve overcome. Good decisions you’ve made. Lessons you’ve learned. Risks you’ve taken. Character traits or qualities (being kind, a good listener, protective, loyal, encouraging, optimistic, etc).
6. Give yourself grace and Be gentle with yourself as you do this exercise. Tears may certainly start falling as past hurts are revisited, losses are acknowledged, and you’re confronted with proof of just how much you’ve been through and how hard you’ve worked.
But GIRL! That growth should be celebrated, and you deserve to be reminded of how unique and wonderful you truly are. Take time today to practice gratitude, and give yourself the appreciation you deserve.
7. Just have fun with it.
Links and other things mentioned in this episode:
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