Yep – Valentine’s Day! A culturally created day to spend money on people in your life, indicating how much you love them because the media says maybe you don’t show them enough love throughout the year. Could be true or untrue for you. Either way, I’d like to offer another lens to look through when it comes to Love.
How about this –
Instead of strictly focusing on how much we love others, what would happen if you focus on how much you love yourself? The most healthy way to experience true love in life, is to truly be in love with yourself.
This may come as a shocker, because the media and our social customs all point toward us showering other people with love. There are many challenges with this including but not limited to, running on empty because you give all your love and energy away; looking for love in all the wrong places; and to one degree or another, experiencing an unfulfilled life.
I’ve experienced ALL of those challenges and more on my journey of learning to love myself more. And here’s what I’ve discovered.
Loving myself isn’t selfish.
Being as kind and gracious to myself as I would to my best friend is loving and welcomed.
Saying ‘no’ to someone else so I can say ‘yes’ to myself, is loving and empowering.
Saying ‘no’ to the pasta, cookies, or cocktail so I can say ‘yes’ to feeling good, is hard and very loving.
Forgiving myself for doing not-so-awesome things in the past, is loving and freeing.
Allowing myself to fail forward with grace, is loving and rewarding.
Understanding and accepting my imperfections, is loving and peaceful.
Incorporating these thoughts and actions allows me to life a fuller life, and gives me the energy and love to share with others.
I want to share an affirmation I’ve been using this year as I work on my word of the year, Heal. “I do not have to wait until I am perfect to start loving myself. Loving myself is the quickest way to create a wonderful life.”