The single longest relationship you will ever have is with YOU!
We cannot divorce, quit, or move away from ourselves. This enduring affiliation with our own face in the mirror is a relationship that is with us all of our lives. Liking and loving who we are provides us with a special super power.
It is this coach's opinion that the art of "showing up" is at the heart of our own personal power in loving ourselves.
There are times that we would rather pull the blankets over our heads then face the day ahead. Yet, it is at this crossroads of overwhelm and our own comfort zones that the power of prioritizing our needs comes to life and manifests and blooms into self-love. So, how can we care for and love ourselves in the same manner that we care for and love others? How can we show up?
Self-love is not a one-and-done commitment. It is an everyday commitment. It runs the line of our lives and provides us with a lifeline to connect with our inner child, our core values, and our abilities to live the lives we most desire.
Essentially, what we attract into our lives is a reflection of our own patterns of kindness and love. Self-love and self-esteem go hand-in-hand. They are seeped in our understanding of our own worth and in our ability to prioritize ourselves within the confines of a busy world. Without this ability to love ourselves first, we limit our ability to love others. Loving ourselves paves the way for understanding, gratitude, forgiveness, and empathy in all that we do. It pushes judgment aside in favor of acceptance.
Approval, joy, and acceptance are ours for the asking when we actively practice self-love. Instead, of relying on others, high self-esteem allows us to trust and rely on ourselves first. When we actively love ourselves, we come to the table in any relationship as an equal partner with limited expectation and baggage because we are not looking for someone else to define or complete us.
3 Power Tips For Loving Yourself Now
Let Go
You are not going to like all of the chocolates in that heart shaped box! They will not all be perfect. One chocolate you may savor and yet another you spit out. Allow for imperfection within the confines of that box of chocolates as well as within your life. The things you like best and the things you don't like as much need to be able to co-exist. Don't wait for the perfect box of chocolates to appear. The imperfect box you already own is unique and one-of-a-kind. Pull from it what you enjoy and let the rest go.
Believe You Can
Write your own poetry. You may like the poetry of others, but write your own. Personalize it just for you. Reach into your soul to pull out the lines that best define YOU. Can you hear the whispers in the rhymes? When you write your story, write your truth in this moment. Create an affirmative beginning, a middle and an end and then experience your poem in the order in which it was written. If you read the ending first, you alter the poem forever. Re-read this love letter to yourself daily so that your dreams and goals connect to the realities of your everyday world.
Play In the Garden
Plant and then cultivate the flowers in your personal garden. In other words, infuse your daily life with "play" in such a way that you create a natural balance between the elements of your day that stress and overwhelm and those that give you joy. This begins with prioritizing meetings with YOU. Time to explore new things, take classes, exercise, meditate, color, or travel. Plant the seeds for these elements of your life to exist by scheduling them onto your calendar first. In that way, no excuses exist; what you love to do is scheduled in just like every other commitment you have. If you don't plant the seeds and take the initiative to give yourself the permission to be important in your own life, you will also never experience the joy that comes from that full grown garden. It takes work to keep your garden healthy and your flowers looking beautiful. It takes work to prioritize yourself into your own life in such a way that you show up for yourself in the same way you may be present for others. Taking time to de-stress, to explore and evolve is a choice. Grant yourself this gift of time in the garden. It is a love affair that only you can have; one that will ensure self-love, personal kindness, and space to connect uniquely and meaningfully back to YOU!
Cheers to a month ahead wrapped in love,
