It’s February… Learn to Love Yourself First.
This year, I’m devoting February to Self-Love! It’s time to love myself first… I know you might be thinking “this sounds awfully self-centered and self-involved,” and that’s kind of the point.
Bring on the positive affirmations, the sappy love songs and bubble baths.
Ok, not convinced yet? Allow me to share a brief personal story with you regarding this important and valuable lesson. Several years ago, I decided to compete in my first pageant. Yes, a beauty pageant… “Mrs. Indiana America”. I had never done anything like this before in my life. During that journey, I certainly learned a lot of myself. It was the very first time in my entire life that I had to focus on myself and at times, put my own goals and dreams first.
Months after the pageant, my husband said to me, “you know, you are a lot more self-involved than you used to be.” At first, I took this with a bit of a sting to my ego. Those words “self-involved” seemed as though they should make me feel guilty for wanting to better myself. After mulling over that for several days, I came to a stunning realization. “Heck yeah! I am a little self-involved and that’s O.K.!”
The words “self-love” or “self-care” I think can make the hair on the back of our neck stand up at times. “Love your neighbor as yourself”, “sacrifice”, “do for others first”, “put others first”, “giving is better than receiving” - all of these sayings we’ve been taught since little certainly do have their merits. My husband and I run a non-profit to serve our community, I volunteer at my church and with community organizations. I definitely know the value of service to others. That’s not quite what I’m talking about here.
I am talking about filling your cup. Imagine a garden (metaphor for your family, career, church, community, etc.). You have to water your vegetables, but your hose does not reach, so you must use a watering can to get the water to your plants. It’s completely obvious that first, you must fill your water can to be able to get that water to the plants in your garden. That water has to come from a flowing source, one that you know you can come back to again when you are all out of water for your garden.
Think of that self-love (the affirmations, the meditation/prayer, the positive self-talk, the time you take to work towards your health and nutrition) all part of the filling up that watering can.
Perhaps defining your goals and dreaming up your unique strategy to achieve them is part of your self-love and self-care for this month. Schedule your Free Dream Strategy Call with me today!