Self-Love is Creating the Life that is Best for YOU!
We hear a lot about self-love and self-care these days, but what does it all mean? And how do you get there?
Self-love begins with accepting who we are—all of the good and all of the bad. It's about wholeheartedly accepting you as you are and opening up to create the space to actually and fully love ourselves.
Practicing self-love is essential to becoming our best self. Self-love is the foundation of living a good life full of happiness and gratitude. If you're finding that you struggle to sleep, or even function on a daily basis, take a look at your inner self and create that self-love that you need to live an abundant life fully.
When you find space in your heart for love and abundance yourself, you can change your life and how you function. To find space, you need to own your life, your actions, and your feelings.
Self-love means being true to yourself and nurturing your body and mind. It means looking into your soul and trusting your path and having the confidence to accept change. With self-love, you have built a life that doesn't need another person to make you happy. You create happiness on your own. As a result, you express love and gratitude more openly to those around you.
What self-love is NOT is selfishness! It is recognizing that you are important and need care!
Think about this: to take care of your family and others in the absolute best way possible, you must take care of yourself first. When the oxygen sign comes on while flying, we are told to take care of ourselves first before assisting our loved ones with the oxygen mask. It is that analogy that represents the true impact of self-love. You must be full of love for yourself by taking care of yourself to better help others.
To find self-love, you must practice self-care to achieve that state of happiness better. It truly is a process.
How do you do that? Start building that space within you to make way for more self-love by choosing yourself and your integrity over popularity or making other people happy.
Spend quality time with yourself through mindfulness activities such as meditation and practices like yoga that help you focus on deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. Relax your body, get a massage and give yourself a manicure and pedicure! Make this time about loving the whole YOU.
Be sure to use positive self-talk as well. Practice daily affirmations and become your own best cheerleader. Say them each day and even put them on the mirror, so you see them first thing.
You can also use journaling as a way to document and remind yourself of your strengths and ways you express gratitude. Journaling is an excellent way to record everything you want to accomplish, have accomplished and all that makes you feel good about yourself.
Other ways of practicing self-love include taking care of yourself physically. Be mindful of your grocery shopping and meal preparation. Put thought into balanced nutrition and those foods that bring you good health and energy. Manage your health efficiently by staying on top of regular check-ups and physicals with doctors and dentists.
Invest in YOU! Dress in ways that make you feel good about yourself and your inner and outer beauty. You will be amazed at how tall you stand when you begin to practice this aspect of self-love. Take a cooking class if you have a passion or volunteer for an organization that pulls your heartstrings.
No one else can create this self-love for you. It is up to you to create the space and understand the importance of YOU. It's part of your journey and requires practice and dedication every day.
Make that resolve every day and achieve your best self!
It's your story to create!