Love Yourself

Your Challenge Today:

Love yourself …

By Bernadette Kathryn, LMT, IHLC

Love yourself.

It is important to stay positive

because beauty comes from the inside out.

~ Jenn Proske

Ahhh to love one’s self, that is the question and how do we arrive at an easy answer? In theory, it should be effortless, self-love, self-appreciation, self-respect, self-esteem, these are all qualities that we wish for ourselves, our friends, and mostly for our children. We think these elements are innate and natural to come by when in reality we are fragile beings, and without a lot of effort, our self-image can bruise. The damage occurs slowly by seemingly innocent encounters with others while we are growing up. Perhaps a sibling rivalry provides harsh words that sting and creates doubt in our mind or a teacher at school tells us that we can’t do something instead of helping us find a way. And maybe a parent was having a bad day, week or month and wasn’t able to be as emotionally nurturing as we needed and we felt like we did something wrong, leaving us with a broad wondering if we were somehow ‘wrong.’

These experiences over the years can inadvertently kidnap our enthusiasm and passion for exploration while undermining our self-esteem, self-love and our drive to challenge ourselves. Once the little voice in our head says “you can’t” or “you’re fat” or “you’re awful” … it’s tough to change it, and that is what we must do — change the negative self-talk into the positive self-loving talk. After all, if we don’t love ourselves fully, who is going? We need to be our own best friend, our cheerleader, and advocate. Our goal is to strike a balance between humility and self-love, knowing in our hearts that we are deserving, incredible creatures of the universe and yet humble in our approach toward others. I have often heard it said that “if you need to tell everyone how wonderful you are, then you aren’t” … it’s much more graceful to show the world your magnificence through your generous, loving nature. I do believe that’s it’s important to toot your own horn from time to time, celebrate your success and share your love with others.

How do you love yourself and others in a healthy way that boosts your endorphins — which connect to our feelings of attachment and comfort. Endorphins are like opiates. They moderate anxiety, relieve pain and reduce stress. Let us all love a little more each day and begin with ourselves.