“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.” - Buddha
With Valentine's Day tomorrow, I wanted to offer a different perspective on the day instead of the traditional focus on romantic love.
What if we focused instead on self-love, on a genuine regard for our own well-being and happiness.
YES!!
Unfortunately, people confuse self-love for narcissism, write it off as selfish, and/or find it impossible to love themselves when they don't even really like themselves.
But really self-love is all about valuing yourself as a human being who is worthy of love and respect.
It's about taking care of yourself so you're able to be a consistent, steady source of support and love for those around you.
It's about working toward self-acceptance instead of falling back on the constant criticism that comes so naturally.
It's about treating yourself with kindness and respect.
It's about challenging yourself, nurturing your growth, and prioritizing your own mental, social, emotional, and physical well-being.
So, how can you bring more of it into your life? Self love can look like:
Taking care of yourself: move your body everyday, listen to your body when it comes to food and nutrition, get enough sleep etc...
Enjoying quiet time for yourself each day. Learn to enjoy both the silence and your own company
Create a positive morning routine to start your day with intention
Figure out what relaxes you. Do more of it
Identify your core values and work to live from that place
Doing things you love - whether that's backyard candle making, rare bird watching, ballroom dancing or photographing kittens in mittens
Listen to yourself. We are so used to outsourcing our knowledge and intuition to diet books, celebrities, friends etc... Instead, get quiet and listen to yourself. Trust that the answers are there (because they are).
Set a goal and work toward it. It's not necessarily about achieving it, but who you have to become along the way
This one is KEY. Recognize that life is not always going to be amazing. You won't always make the best decision or say the right thing. You will feel sadness, regret, guilt, loneliness, and anger as well as happiness, love, connection and growth. When we accept that all of these things are part of the experience, we are better able to handle them when they inevitably come along, and we don't need to make it mean anything about us that they did.
Pick two things from this list and practice them today. Your heart will thank you.
Bonus! My very FAVORITE heart opening stretch. It takes two minutes, relieves tension, and creates space for the Good Stuff.
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PS!! We'll talk about this and much more in my upcoming program Life... On Purpose!
It's a 15-week women's group coaching program designed to help you create awareness and MAJOR growth so you can finally live a life that inspires you. Self-love at it's finest!
Click HERE for more information and to get on the waitlist.
Have a beautiful, self-love-filled week friends.
Carolyn
xx