Note to self:

Feeling my most beautiful!

By Bernadette Kathryn, LMT, IHLC

Beauty is when you can appreciate yourself.

When you love yourself,

that’s when you’re most beautiful.

~ Zoe Kravitz

Loving myself

Learning to love myself has admittedly been quite a journey ~ one that I believe will last my lifetime. I sometimes wonder why anyone would ever question their self-worth. I am not a psychotherapist, I don’t fully understand the dynamics of self-esteem, self-love, and self-appreciation ~ what I do know is ~ it can be fostered. Like a lot of personal habits and attitudes, they can be fostered through daily practice. And, I am worth it — so are you!

The science of happiness

I just completed a course through edX – The Science of Happiness and I feel encouraged and energized by the research presented. We can really elevate our mood, happiness factor and learn to love ourselves through daily practice. I know we all have talents to be celebrated, blessings to be grateful for and a support system to lean on when we need it. We can simplify our lives and add easy rituals that boost our self-esteem, self-love, and self-appreciation in a very healthy way.

Boost your mood

Simple ways to boost your mood can be as easy as listening to uplifting music, taking a walk in the park, a quick meditation practice, a phone call with a dear friend, scheduling a massage, eating a healthy meal, meeting a friend for a workout, watching a funny movie, and helping a friend. When we make the time to do things that feed our soul, we are actively participating in our mental, spiritual and physical health. Hobbies like playing a musical instrument, taking dance lessons, teaching our dog to perform tricks, are all ways to boost our happiness factor and it’s important to make sure we have some balance in our lives. We definitely need to have a sense of purpose at work so that we feel fulfilled in a different way, however, we cannot work all the time, we need other outlets.

Meet new people

I like to SCUBA — I learned to swim when I was very young, my dad loved sailboats and wanted to be sure we (my brothers and I) could swim before we could walk. It was a good move on his part for our safety and that ability fostered a love of water for us to enjoy throughout our lifetime. As a result, I do love the water, I love to swim laps in the pool for a refreshing workout and I love to explore the world through SCUBA. It’s a great way to meet new people and learn about other parts of the world while enjoying boats and the ocean, a major win-win situation.

Real happiness 

As a result of learning to enjoy different activities outside of work, I am happier and there is really nothing more beautiful than the smile on someone’s face when they are truly happy. Real happiness fosters a glow that expresses your own natural beauty and confidence.

 
Simple ways to boost our mood can be as easy as listening to uplifting music #LivingFitLifestyle Click To Tweet