Well Valentine’s Day may be over, but our need for love is stronger than ever. Over the past few years, I’ve been on a major journey of personal growth and development and one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is the importance of self-love. I will admit that I am a lover and a giver as well as a recovering perfectionist. I give willingly and freely to all and rarely expect anything in return. I am very critical on myself and push myself harder than I should. Although this may be good for my family, friends, employers, and the patients that I serve, unfortunately, this combination has been damaging to my personal health. I used to give so much of myself to others that I had very little left to do anything for myself and inside I felt resentful and frustrated, while outside I suffered from weight gain, hair loss, thyroid problems, and infertility. But luckily, I found yoga! Through the wisdom of yoga, I learned that I can’t pour from an empty cup and I learned to take care of me first. I grew stronger both on and off of my mat and felt compelled to share this beautiful practice with other busy, stressed out, working Moms like me so I became a yoga teacher. One of my favorite topics to teach my students this time of year around Valentine’s Day is self-love; therefore, I developed my Six Steps to Strengthen Self-Love this month in hope that you can strengthen your self-love muscles as well.
Six Steps to Strengthen Self-Love:
- Patience – Be patient with yourself. Cut yourself a break when you mess up. Everyone makes mistakes, but often great lessons come out of these occurrences if we look for them, but we usually miss the lesson because we are too busy beating ourselves up about it. Just forgive yourself and move on. After all, mistakes are proof that you’re trying.
- Permission – The best gift you can give yourself is permission to be happy every day. Choose to focus on what’s right in your life rather than what’s wrong and you will actually feel better. Let go of the illusion of perfection. There is no such thing. “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.” – Suzanne Heyn.
- Positive Feedback – When you receive a compliment from someone, TAKE IT IN! Instead of brushing it off, minimizing, or denying it, celebrate the compliment and REALLY RECEIVE IT! You deserve it! Also, take time to not only take a compliment, but give yourself a compliment as well. Every time you look in the mirror, say something nice about yourself.
- Pamper Yourself – Take time to schedule self-care into every day. It can be as simple as having a cup of your favorite tea, lighting a candle, reading a book, taking a hot bath, enjoying the aromatherapy of essential oils, rubbing lotion on your hands and feet, listening to your favorite music or podcast, doing yoga, taking time to meditate, playing with your pet, going outside in nature, or watching the sunrise or sunset.
- Plan Ahead – Plan ahead to avoid unnecessary stress. Leave 5 minutes early on your morning commute to beat traffic. Prep your meals ahead of time to ensure you have a healthy dinner ready when you get home from work instead of waiting in line at the drive-thru. Schedule time to exercise to maintain your energy throughout the week. It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.
- Purposeful – Be purposeful in your actions. If you want to achieve a certain goal you must first start with the intention to do so. Every morning when you awake, ask yourself, “what is one thing I could do today to move me closer to my goals?”, and just do it! As Richard Leider says, “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”
If you remember only one thing from this post, let it be the image I created above with my all-time favorite quote on this topic is by Katrina Mayer, “Loving yourself isn’t vanity, it’s sanity!”
Healthy Wishes,
Katrina