Love Yourself First

Love yourself first and everything else falls in line.  You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world. ~Lucille Ball

Learning to love yourself can be difficult and it does take practice. But loving yourself is going to be your key to success in anything health/fitness related (among other areas of life!)

I recently finished a Love Yourself First Challenge group where participants learned some tips and tricks and participated in activities to start developing self-love.  I want all of you to benefit from the tips shared in the group.  Here are some of them:

1: Begin your day with love (not technology). Remind yourself of your worthiness before getting out of bed. Breathe in love and breathe out love. Ask yourself what you love about yourself today and ANSWER YOURSELF.  Hug yourself tight. (Seriously, do it).  Set your intention for the day.            

2: Take time to meditate and journal. Spend time focusing inward daily. Begin with 5 minutes of meditation and 5 minutes of journaling each morning or each night. Gradually increase this time. 

3: Get emotionally honest. Let of go of numbing your feelings. Shopping, eating, and drinking are examples of avoiding discomfort, sadness, and pain. Mindfully breathe your way through your feelings and emotions. What void are you trying to fill?  Examine it, learn from it, cry through it, and then ... let go of it.

4: Expand your interests. Try something new. Learn a language. Go places you’ve never been. Do things you haven’t done before. You have a right to an awesome life.  Life is RIGHT NOW ... stop waiting and start doing.              

5: Be patient with yourself. Let go of urgency and fear. Relax and transform striving into thriving. Trust in yourself, do good work, and the Universe will reward you.             

6: Become willing to surrender. Breathe, relax, and let go. You can never see the whole picture. You don’t know what anything is for. Stop fighting against yourself by thinking and desiring people and events in your life should be different. Your plan may be different from your soul’s intentions.

7: Live in appreciation. Train your mind to be grateful. Appreciate your talents, beauty, and brilliance. Love your imperfectly perfect self in your perfectly imperfect world. 

8:  Learn to say NO.  Stop participating in activities that bring you down.  Strip your life of toxic people and environments. Love everyone, but choose wisely those who you allow into your life.

9: You attract what you are, not what you want. Whatever it is you want in a partner, start exhibiting more of that.

10: Own your potential. Love yourself enough to believe in the limitless opportunities available to you. Take action and create a beautiful life for yourself.