Love Yourself First
“If you can learn to love yourself and all the flaws, you can love other people so much better. And that makes you so happy.” – Kristen Chenowith
In the month of February, Valentines Day is highlighted as a holiday to celebrate your love for your spouse, significant other, and family. We may do something special to show our loved ones how much we care.
As we walk the isles in the stores, we see the marketing of flowers, cards, chocolate hearts, chocolate covered strawberries, balloons, and more...with ALL the focus being outward love.
While it is always a beautiful and incredibly important thing to dedicate time and pour our love into our loved ones, many of us miss the importance of dedicating time and love to one's self first.
What are some of the benefits of self-love?
1. Increased Confidence. Loving yourself gives you a boost in self-confidence, self-worth, and self-respect. Confidence allows us to feel more positive and when we feel positive, we have more love to give others.
2. Self-Trust. Trust in one's self gives us a stronger ability to listen to our own intuition & feelings.
3. Greater Mindfulness. Being more discerning about who we spend time with, how we spend our money, how we spend our time, and how to create a work/life balance.
4. Stronger Resilience. Being able to handle life's challenges with strength.
5. Self-Compassion. A strong ability to show love, understanding, and acceptance to ourselves.
5. Increased Motivation. When we feel good about ourselves, we are more eager to get involved in a variety of activities that we enjoy, and be more present and engaged with our work and personal life.
6. Greater Happiness. Happiness is not conditional. We do not have to achieve (fill in the blank) in order to be happy. Happiness is a choice, just like love.
What are some ways we can better love ourselves?
1. Slow Down. Take some time each day to rest and be still. Could be listening to some calming music, read a book, play an instrument, meditation, prayer, or simple breath work.
2. Sleep. Make sure you are getting enough sleep at night. This is when the mind & body rejuvenates the most.
3. Exercise. The well being of your physical body does really impact the well being of your mind. Any form of exercise that keeps you active and feeling strong physically will definitely impact your positive feelings and confidence.
4. Say No. Say no to others when you don't have the time or bandwidth to say yes...prevents feelings of being overwhelmed.
5. Try Not to Please Everyone...we won't ever win this battle. Don't make decisions based on fear of what others will think.
6. Find a New Activity. Participate in an activity that is something you have always wanted to do. Make the time. Could be anything. Could be with a loved one or something just for yourself.
"To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness." - Robert Morley