Love yourself enough to live a healthy lifestyle.
Jules Robson
I think this one is self explanatory but is so easy to brush past with the distractions of everyday life. It amazes me how much I used to, and in some aspects still deprive myself of what’s healthy and best for my body, mind and soul, either with everyday distractions, putting the wants and needs of others before my own, or just being comfortable and feeling safe in my habits.
Self love is a tricky topic and hard to implement, especially when society and cultures have deemed it unattainable and perceived it as selfishness and vanity for so long, and empires, businesses and media have preached the message that you are lacking and need to compensate in some way. We’re bombarded with so many reasons to hate (I know its a strong word but that’s what it is!) ourselves, it feels impossible to take a step, even a small one, where we are treating ourselves with love. But know that you are worthy, loved, cherished and important just as you are.
So how does one love oneself? This goes deeper than running a bath or treating yourself to a mani/pedi, those are important too but a lot of us aren’t even quite there yet!
Like with any relationship, let's start with communication. How do you talk to yourself? Are you your own biggest critic or cheerleader? Do you beat yourself up when you make a mistake, call yourself names, or are you gentle and understanding with yourself, like how you’d speak to a child? I’m no expert, but my journey definitely started with realizing how horrible I was to myself! Changing this inner dialogue, literally pausing and talking things through with myself has led me to better understand the situation and why I’m acting a certain way. Self awareness can do wonders, and can bring that understanding of what your body, mind and soul needs from you.
So I’m not going to tell you to love yourself because it’s easier said than done considering how much damage we’ve gone through. But I will say, pause, be still, listen and just see what you need from yourself. This act of love towards yourself will ripple into other areas of your life.