Tell me your strengths and positive qualities.
Believe it or not, this is the hardest question on my new client intake assessment.
I work primarily with teens and young adults.
Too many young people struggle to find anything good about themselves.
They can talk about their trauma.
Their family chaos.
Their drug and alcohol use.
They cannot tell me their strengths and positive qualities.
I even prompt them by saying "tell me who you are, not what you do."
Without direction, they would just rattle off a list of hobbies.
Tell me what you like about yourself.
I play video games. I draw. I sing. I watch movies.
They know what they do. They do not know who they are.
It is extremely hard to feel good about yourself when you don't know who you are.
Self esteem is the foundation upon which all mental health sits.
All the skills in the world won't make a difference if you think you are a loser who is never good enough.
Caring about ourselves starts with our ability to identify and embrace our strengths and positive qualities.
Self esteem is not about what you do.
It is about who you are.
Spend 30 seconds today thinking about who you are.
Come back next week and I will illustrate exactly what that looks like.
For information on individual therapy, contact me at bradleyjabel@gmail.com
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