When I say “loving yourself” I’m not talking about masturbation. Although, that is always a great way to show yourself some love.
Loving yourself, for the purpose of this post, is the ability to love who you are – lock, stock and barrel.
Why do you think this is so difficult? It’s easy to look at another human, see there strengths and weaknesses and be able to say – so what, they’re only human. But if we look at ourselves with the same strengths and weaknesses, we beat ourselves up and plummet our self-esteem.
We are, hands down, our own worst enemy.
Could it be the way we were raised that causes us to look at our reflection in the mirror and be dismayed at what we see? Could be. Or could it have been the past rejections, hurts and disappointments? Always a possibility.
Of course – it could be a combination of the above two reasons, as well as comments from co-workers, friends, family members and enemies.
But the one thing none of us seem to take into consideration, no matter how the self-loathing started, is that it is a choice for it to continue.
No one is perfect. We are all either too fat or too skinny. To smart or not smart enough. Too pretty or beauty challenged, too rich, too poor — too this too that. You get the drift.
As humans we may not be perfect, but we are all unique. In that uniqueness we embody love – love for ourselves and love for our fellow man, animals, earth, plants, etc…
We have a choice each and every day to continue the pain from the past or to start anew and love ourselves.
Once we decide enough is enough – how to we start to heal and repair the damage?
One day at a time.
Seriously – that’s it.
Of course it is always nice to have some help as we learn to love ourselves once again.
Practical help:
- Do something nice for yourself once a week: a movie, latte, new sweater, extra nap, etc…
- Be conscious of your thoughts – as soon as you realize you are beating yourself up, push it out of your mind and replace it with something good.
- Keep a “Loving Me” journal and write down one to three nice things about yourself daily. It could be, “My hair is looks fabo” to “I helped a woman with the door at WalMart.”
- Carry around a rose quartz. When you need a little extra love, hold it in your receptive hand (the one you DO NOT write with).
- Dab a little lavender or rosemary essential oil on your neck, temples and wrists before you start your day.
- Burn a pink candle on Fridays (the day for love) as you imagine yourself in love with you.
You’ll notice that the more you love yourself, the easier it is for others to love you. It’s not an ego trip to love yourself – it’s a soulful trip.
What are you waiting for? You’re a great person to love — start today!
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