Self-Love (The Greatest Gift)
This Valentine’s Day, more than any relationship kind of love, I wish for you self-love. It’s the greatest gift you can give yourself. It is not selfish, it’s the opposite. As you grow in love for yourself you won’t seek out the wrong kind of love from others. Instead, you will feel wholeness and you’ll have more love to offer others unconditionally.
Here are several great ways to love yourself more-
Be kind to yourself: Write out a list of things you like about yourself. Most of us can quickly name off the things we don’t like, so take some time to think up some things that you do like.
Forgive yourself: Your past brought you to this moment and I’m sure you’ve learned a lot from it. Instead of regretting things, think of all that you gained from difficult situations and be thankful for your growth. I like to list out my most challenging situations and then write what I learned from them, that way you can move on from the challenge.
Take yourself on a date: Go get a relaxing massage, go on a hike or a walk with a journal and write out some dreams or meditate, grab a bite to eat with a good book, get ice cream, just do something that makes you happy and leaves you feeling good. You could even cross something off your Victory List.
Let go: Put distance between yourself and people who hurt you. Establish firm boundaries to keep yourself from being harmed by words and actions of others. Sometimes people hurt you, unintentionally because they are hurting. You need to surround yourself with positive people that help you grow to reach your full potential.
Compliment yourself: Don’t wait for people to acknowledge you say something nice about yourself. Our minds can be quick to criticize, it’s time to compliment yourself for things like- your eagerness to help others, your generous spirit, your impeccable style.
Do some positive affirmations: In a previous post, Connecting with Yourself I wrote about the amazing power of affirmations and how they are a great way to achieve self-love.
Here are some affirmations that I like to use-
“I accept and love myself exactly as I am right now.”
“I know that a great power dwells within me, I can conquer anything.”
“I radiate love and find it all around me”
“I am grateful for __(you can insert anything here) __. Thank you.”
You can use any of these or make some of your own. Affirmations are the quickest way to reprogram your brain to think positive things and watch any negativity drift away with time. It’s a beautiful technique that I learned from the incredible Louise Hay. I also would recommend doing her guided meditations which you can find on YouTube.
Source: “What I Know For Sure”
After creating a instagram quote pic today on self-love, I picked up a book off my shelf. I hadn’t read in a while, turned to the page I left off on and read something I needed to hear. I love when you open a book and it just speaks to you, right where you are; I call it divine alignment, I’m sure there must be other terms for it out there, somewhere… Anyway, I’d like to share a bit of it with you. This is from Oprah Winfrey’s book “What I Know For Sure”.
“I sat up in bed one crisp, sunny morning and made a vow to love my heart. To treat it with respect. To feed and nurture it. To work it out and then let it rest. And then one night when I was getting out of the tub, I glanced in a full-length mirror. For the first time, I didn’t launch into my self-criticism. I actually felt a warming sense of gratitude for what I saw. My hair braided, not a stitch of makeup on, face clean. Eyes bright, alive. Shoulders and neck strong and firm. I was thankful for the body I lived in.
I did a head-to-toe assessment, and though there was plenty of room for improvement, I no longer hated any part of myself, even the cellulite. I thought, this is the body you’ve been given-love what you’ve got. So I started truly loving the face I was born with; the lines I had under my eyes at age 2 have gotten deeper, but they’re my lines. The broad nose I tried to lift, when I was 8, by sleeping with a close pin into cotton balls on the sides, is the nose I’ve grown into. The full lips are used to pull in when smiling are the lips I’ve used to speak to millions of people every day-my lips need to be full… What I know for sure: There is no need to struggle with your body when you can make a loving and grateful peace with it.”
This book is a great read that is full of so much wisdom. It’s comprised of essays Oprah wrote for “O” magazine and is filled with gems like the quote above. I highly recommend it, you can click here to purchase it now.
Wishing you so much love this Valentine’s Day. Love yourself today and always, you deserve it.