Love Thyself-5 Simple Steps

Candles

Love Thyself

I remain committed to my mission of “self-love.” My definition of self-love is: the ability to love oneself unconditionally, to make decisions in her best interest and in the interest of the common good; to set time apart for herself to ground, energize, and stimulate creativity; the ability to give oneself all things needed to thrive.

So much effort goes into self-love and self care. Yet, for others this idea is so naturally fluid that it takes no effort at all. I aim to get the that place where I innately make choices for self love as easily as I can take a deep breath into my body. Unfortunately, for myself, I wait until some crazy catastrophe happens, and then decide that it’s time for self care. What about my preventative habits? What can I do today that will give me the core foundations to make these choices before my health slips or I become too angry to even focus. I need self-care 101 class!

Everyday I hear moms, especially new moms, talk about the difficulty of putting themselves first. Our babies, toddlers, husbands, or jobs seem to take top priority. But, here is what I’ve learned this past month, suffering from a cumulative lack of self-care: I must come first to be a quality human being to my baby, or toddler, or husband, or job. I have neglected this important lesson. GULP. Thank goodness it’s not too late to begin now, where I am, in this moment, to start practicing what I preach.

Some of this is going to seem elementary. You will probably think, DUH. But, these are 5 steps that I can easily implement today.

  1. I will take a shower before 10am every day, blow dry my hair, and put on lip gloss to prepare for my day. (That means I leave Ben in the crib for 30 min while I shower, brush my teeth, etc.)
  2. I will set an intention upon drinking my first sip of tea or coffee.
  3. At bedtime, I will let go of the day by writing in my journal, even if the only thing I write is “This fucking day sucks.”
  4. Meditation with or without stones as I prepare my body for bed.
  5. Dedicate 8 hours to sleep.

So, ladies and gents, do you have a special routine or other healthy habits that you include in your life on a daily basis that instantly zaps you out of negative thinking patterns? What are they? Please share in the comments.

Thank you,

Monica