What does it mean to love yourself?

Loving oneself is a daily practice of self care.

Love is something that is ongoing. 

It is something to be celebrated daily for yourself.

Love who you are, make time for you.

Do not wait for another to tell you or show you they love you in order for you to feel it or be it. This will not fully work, the effect will be temporary. It will be temporary because you first need to love you. When love comes from the outside without having a home on the inside it cannot fully be felt, it “wears” off. However, when you – love you, then love from another can stick because you already believe, know and feel the love. Essentially, it has a place to call home within your very own heart. A place within you that feels safe with being loved!

As you begin to acknowledge that you need to love yourself, you are actually stepping out of our own shadow. This means you begin to see that the story you have been telling yourself about why you are not lovable, why you are not really worthy of love and making excuses for others for not loving you begins to fall away.  When you open your heart to yourself, then you open up your ability to love yourself. And when you open up to loving yourself, it is at that time that you are making room for another to love you.  

We can not take in from another which we already do not possess within.

We have difficulty taking this in because we can not recognize it. Sometimes, we can not even believe that another would feel this way towards us or about us. It is like learning to read a new language, you may see letters on the page but without understanding the words the letters are forming, you can not take it in or understand it. You have no internal context for interpreting the word in front of you.

It is the same for love. If you do not know love for yourself, you can not, or will have a pretty hard time, recognizing it coming to you from another. 

Today is the day to start loving yourself.

How do you do that?

Well, it starts with you. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Place your hand over your heart and say, “I love you,” silently in your mind.

2. Stand in front of a mirror, look into your own eyes and say, “I love you,” to yourself while placing your hand on your heart.

3. Write it down. Write, Dear(fill in your name), I love you. Write down 3 positive attributes. Write these attributes down 3 times on the same page and then read it aloud.

4. Do a is self care activity. Pick something that brings you joy. Some examples may be listening to music, reading a book, cooking a favorite meal, calling a friend, exercising or meditating. The options are limitless. You are only limited by your imagination. 

5. Stay present and remind yourself that at this moment in time you are ok just as you are.

6. Choose you! You get to choose to let go of all you have held onto that has hurt you.

7. Imagine sending love from your own heart to any part of you from the past or present that is in pain and open up to the love you have for yourself.

Love does not happen in a small container. Love is abundant. Love really is everywhere when you open yourself up to see it, take it in and own it as a part of you.

Pause here with me now. Place your hand on your heart with me, take a breath in and say, “I love you.” Hold it there, feel the warmth, and when you are ready, exhale.

If you want to learn more about this, my book, Show Up For Yourself, explores this and helps you find a way toward healing. 

If you have questions DM me in Instagram or send me a message through my website.