Too often we focus on what’s wrong with us. What’s your diagnosis? Depressed? Borderline? Paranoid Schizophrenic? Panic Disorder? All of these terms are just a way to develop ways to help people. Put a name to the thing that’s “wrong” with you and now you have a section in a textbook to look at to help you.

When you sit there in therapy talking about yourself, do you find that you’re focusing on what’s wrong or what’s right? If you’re in Client-Centered Therapy, chances are it’s more positive than negative things. Your therapist is encouraging you to see the positive in you. Whenever they hear you talk, they accept you for who you are, which in turn makes you feel better about yourself. See what I’m talking about in this BetterHelp article on CCT.

So, what’s right with you? Have you thought about this at all? We are always thinking about ways to improve ourselves. We’re persistently focusing on our flaws, but we are full of great things. Think about what you’ve accomplished for a moment. What are you proud of? There are things in life that are hard to do, but we do them anyway. Think back to a moment where you thought that you couldn’t, but you did. That’s what’s right with you.

The things that are worth doing are those that we work hard to do. Let’s say you want to make a change in your life. You want to move to Ireland. Despite your friends and family telling you that you can’t do it, You take the leap and do it. People call you crazy but you did it because you realized there wasn’t anything wrong with you, there was something right with you. You had the courage to take your life and move it to an entirely new country. That takes bravery.

Instead of thinking about the ways in which you are flawed, think about how much you rock the house. What’s right with you is that you keep trying, you keep taking risks and you keep living. That’s what’s right. Never forget how strong you are. Sometimes you will surprise yourself with what you can do.