Self-Love is the ANSWER!

My heart hurts today. I’m saddened by the reminder that we live in a broken world – full of loss, tragedy and pain.

Today is also blog day – and to be 100% honest – it’s kinda hard to feel motivated to write about weight loss, exercise or nutrition.

Not that those things aren’t important – they are.

And we still need to make decisions around these things even when our hearts hurt.

We still should take care of ourselves – move a little, eat some tasty things that make our cells happy, honor our body’s needs.

But what about taking a little time to take care of our hearts when they hurt?

Part of my belief with living a healthy life – is showing yourself some love.

And honestly, if we really get down to the nitty gritty of why we want to lose weight – isn’t that it?

Isn’t it because we want to love ourselves?

The problem is – losing weight alone will not get you there.

The work comes in being able to love yourself now – today – the only time we have guaranteed – this moment.

How can you do that?

By celebrating yourself. Loving your strengths, appreciating your progress, listening to your intuition, investing in yourself.

Let’s start with listing 5 – 10 of your favorite qualities about yourself. (if you struggle with this – think about what your closest friends/family would say that they love about you)

Then take this list and really think about these qualities – believe it or not – you are unique – there is NO ONE else exactly like you.

So this bundle of qualities were given to you as a gift. What do you do with a gift? You show gratitude for it – you smile when you think about it – you honor it and then shine that light back in to the world.

Next – you take care of yourself. Each day this may look a little different, right? Some days you may be full of energy – you work out a little harder – you bounce around and dance – you tackle some tasks that you’ve been meaning to do and WANT to do today.

Or maybe today you are feeling a little tired – not quite full of as much oomph as other days. So maybe you move a little slower – go out for a walk around a pond – do a little gardening – maybe some yoga. You honor this space for yourself and accept that today might not be the day to take on a big project. And then rest in the fact that you will have the energy another day for it. No judgement – no beating yourself up.

Third – you invest in loving on yourself. This will look differently for everyone, right? Some people might enjoy getting a mani/pedi or a massage – while others would feel loved on by buying themselves a new book or journal.

This isn’t meant to say you HAVE to spend money on yourself to love yourself – but I would challenge you to see what thoughts pop up for you when you consider investing in yourself. Are there any tiny voices saying “you are not worth it”, “you can’t afford that”, “not until you’ve reached xyz goal”? Be aware of what reasons you might be using for not investing in yourself – and make sure they come from a TRUE place of love.

Loving oneself is not selfish, it’s not vain – it’s REQUIRED to truly be able to love on the ones around us.

Your ability to love yourself directly equates to how much love you can give to others. The love and/or judgements that we show to ourselves will be reflected onto the ones around us whether we like it or not.

When we want the world to change – we have to be willing to change ourselves – and I personally believe the best, truest, and most helpful change comes through love.