Valentine’s day is almost here. For some of us, it’s a great day. For others, not so much. It may bring up feelings that you don’t look at all the time (you know, the ones you stuff deep down inside?). You might feel an extra push to find the love of your life.
I have a secret for you: you’ve already met the love of your life. You interact every day with them. They are always with you in good times and bad. It is Y-O-U. You are the love of your life.
Nope, I’m not crazy. Pause and think about it.
Before you can love someone else you have to love yourself first. This sounds really easy yet it is one of the hardest things to do. Many spend a lifetime convincing ourselves that we love ourselves, but it’s sadly not the case. The voice in our head (that ol’ hag in the attic) is still there – running her mouth off in the background, stirring up self-doubt, and poking at us persistently. And we listen to it – and often believe it too.
When you can silence the voice and truly start loving yourself more each day, life changes in amazing ways. People who love themselves feel better on a day-to-day basis. They get the job they wanted. Opportunities show up. Their relationships improve. They move through life with seeming ease. That’s the power of self-love.
How the heck do I love myself?
It’s not easy, friends. But you can start here.
- Stop caring about how you look. Beauty does not dictate worth. Stand in your own beauty, whatever that looks like. This is a hard one. I work every day on this.
- Let go. We carry the past with us. We take pain and hurt and we tuck them away. So it still hurts. And it still clouds our vision and ambitions. Choose to forgive and move on. For you.
- Stop comparing yourself to others. No one is you and you are not like anyone else. Comparisons are negative in so many ways and you just need to stop.
- Realize it is not selfish to love ourselves. The more we love ourselves the more we can love those around us. Open that heart!
- Spend sometime with you. You might be surprised how much you really like you. Get to know yourself a bit better. Take yourself on a date. Go for a walk or meditate.
Self-love is a journey. Start it now so you can get clear on what you want to achieve and give yourself permission to achieve it. What you want matters. Loving yourself is the first step to achieving your dreams.