Anyone who has endured abuse or trauma can find it especially hard to acknowledge achievements with self-praise. We might feel unworthy of it, or we simply don’t recognise our worth, because in our early years we weren’t praised. It is akin perhaps to trying to follow a religion, having never been to a place of worship. We know nothing about self-praise and its workings, or perhaps deem it as indulgent and frivolous, due to the distorted life values which have been bestowed upon us.

So instead, any accomplishment or positive step we make in improving ourselves, we barely even notice – let alone commend ourselves. At best, someone else might point out an achievement we’ve made, only for us to respond with a wry smile. It doesn’t feel as though we deserve the compliment and it falls on deaf ears, never to be thought of again. We don’t know where it fits in with the blurred self-image of ourselves.

But without self-praise, life is like second guessing your destination – we’ve disregarded the fact that it helps us form a road map to our aspirations, dreams and goals. Self-praise helps form the very foundations of our daily lives, and when we achieve something positive, we deserve to at least acknowledge our success.

Success comes in all forms, small, to big, to life-changing; each warrants your acknowledgement, whether you’ve shed those few extra pounds or you’ve addressed your mundane paperwork, these deserve recognition in the form of self-praise.

A life coach once advised me that actually, every positive action we take for ourselves, is cause for celebration! You might deem it as a bit over the top – hosting a party to celebrate gaining a qualification – but you could at least treat yourself to a little reward, even if it’s a new item of clothing, or lunch out with a friend.

No matter what your journey has been like to date, remember we all deserve to live full and happy lives. You deserve self-praise and to acknowledge your achievements, whatever their size.