The Greatest Love of All ... Self Love
Welcome to the month of LOVE!
Yep, it is that month again, the month we are bombarded with thoughts (or stress) of whether he/she will say I love you, bring candy and flowers, or take me on a great vacation. And on the opposite spectrum are thoughts like, "Great, I hate this month; another Valentine alone."
Wherever you find yourself, I know this months series of blogs are for you!
Let's dive right into this month of LOVE, shall we?
We express love in many forms.
- Love of friends and family
- Love of work, life, experiences, and an occasional pint of ice cream
- Love of our romantic partners
And there is the most complicated love of all.
SELF LOVE.
And that is where I want to kick off this month of LOVE.
When we were little, we weren't necessarily taught but learned to love others. Whether it was our pets, moms, dads, brothers or sisters, other family members, friends, and even teachers, we learned how to love by observation, gestures, actions, and words.
So when it came to the most essential love of all, our love of self, many of us didn't receive messages to equip us with living our best wholeself life.
Truthfully, for many of us, it was quite the opposite.
We may have heard, "Oh, he/she thinks too much of themselves." Followed by the words conceded, self-centered, egotistical, and maybe even selfish. We became careful not to exhibit those perceived qualities to be labeled the same.
Maybe we didn't receive the love we felt we needed. The adults in our lives didn't easily express emotions or perhaps didn't know how due to their upbringing—leaving us feeling unlovable or abandoned.
Maybe we didn't hear how wonderful we were but only heard another's perception of what we needed to improve upon. So we believed there was something wrong with us; we needed fixing.
Or a perception of an event that shaped our reality and beliefs about ourselves, leaving us feeling less than, unworthy, or self-conscious.
In every case, we took it to form our perceptions and beliefs and, from there, our thoughts, actions, and self-talk (both spoken and internal).
In other words, we self-protected to fit in instead of learning to deeply, spiritually, emotionally, and physically practice self-love.
We lost ourselves; we forgot who we are.
These thoughts, beliefs, and self-talk stop NOW.
Breathe and repeat after me:
- I forgive myself for all the times I forgot who I was and why I am here.
- I forgive myself, and I choose to love and accept myself.
- I forgive myself and am giving myself permission to catch and stop the negative self-talk
- I forgive myself, and I am permitting myself to step out of the box of other's perceptions of me
- I forgive myself, and I am allowing myself to show up and be who I want to be
- I forgive myself, and I am permitting myself to fill my cup
- I forgive myself and release any guilt or shame about who I am or should be.
And one more, I am allowing myself to learn how to love myself so others know exactly how to love me.
How? How do we learn to not only love ourselves but practice it?
By releasing the generations of habits that were unconsciously projected on us by the adults who loved us the best they could. The following journal prompts are here to assist in the journey of self-love and adjust your perception of, well, you!
Self Acceptance Prompts:
- What do you like about yourself
- What are you good at
- How are you a good person
- What are you grateful for when it comes to you
- What do you accept about yourself
Self-Creation Prompts:
- Who do you want to be
- How do you want to feel
- What qualities do you want to have
- What do you want every area of your life to look like
Body Love:
- What I love about my body is
- What I appreciate about my body is
- What I feel grateful about my body is
Inner Child Prompts:
Here you will be writing the little you a letter. Here, you have the chance to release old wounds, hurts, abandonment, and stories to rewrite the old fears and narrative. It is profoundly healing and soothing. Pour into you and know you are safe—some things to include.
- I am here for you and to hold you
- I love you
- I've got you
- I'm not going to let you fall
- I'm not going to leave you; you are safe
- I see you and all your greatness
- Share how wonderful your life is with the little you.
I know what I've shared with you will be SO valuable for you, but remember, if you want something - you have to get out there and MANIFEST YOUR WHOLESELF LIFE!
Let me know if you enjoyed this blog! I love to hear your feedback.
Until Next Week,
Annette Marie
