It's The Love Month - Take Care of Yourself

Who are you celebrating this month?

The love month has arrived. 

It’s February, the celebration of love and romance month.

The love month. Well, some of you may say, so what, I don’t care.  It’s just a made-up holiday and I don’t have a sweetie to share Valentine’s Day with.  I would argue that you do!

We are going to focus on the most important person to love, cherish, honor and live for – you and SELF-LOVE.

Have you settled for good enough because you think you cannot ask for more from love? Are you even open to love?

Let’s dive into this a bit.   

Many of us have been “burned” by love in one way or another.  Unless you were one of those lucky ones that found true love at 16, married your high school sweetheart and are still with him or her.  Good for you.  However, in most cases, many of us have had relationships that didn’t work and when it ended, we got down on ourselves asking …what’s wrong with me?  Will I ever find someone who understands me and appreciates me for me?  Your emotional shields go up.  The barriers become stronger and stronger to break through so you withdraw. 

Does that resonate with any of you?  It did with me for a long time.  And then I realized that I did not love myself enough and was settling.  Settling for something less than I was or deserved.  And you my friends, deserve nothing but the best.

As Somerset Maughn perfectly stated – “It is a funny thing about life, If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”

I love this quote and it’s been on my wall for over 40 years.   Once I learned to love myself it is incredible what things opened up for me in love, business, and family.

We all have emotional baggage that we bring into any relationship so we tiptoe into the next one testing the waters.  Now I am not a relationship expert by any stretch of the imagination. I have studied and read enough about the subject to share my thoughts and I hope you will learn to love yourself deeply this month. 

First let’s define SELF LOVE:

Self-love means having a high regard for your own well-being and happiness. Self-love means taking care of your own needs and not sacrificing your well-being to please others. Self-love can mean something different for each person because we all have many different ways to take care of ourselves. 

The bible defines Self-Love as this… “The commitment to objectively know myself as I am, to fully experience life as it comes to me, and to honor my potential by continually seeking ways to grow.” 

Self-love is not selfish. Self-love is the opposite of selfish.  We must first take care of our self before we can give to others.  You have heard this before and let me remind you.  When you travel on a plane, what does the flight attendant say, “in the event of an emergency, put your oxygen mask on first before assisting others.

Hey all you people pleasers out there……and you know who you are, pay attention.

So how do we do take steps to love ourselves even more deeply Here are Loving, Crazy Coach Maria’s 5 thoughts.    

1. Stop comparing yourself to others.  When you do this, it triggers a negative emotional thought which can take you off your schedule, gameplan, and day.   Instead say that person is doing really well and what can I learn from them? What are they doing that I can introduce into my business or life?
2. Don’t worry about other people’s opinions. This is your journey.  When self-love is strong and you are being your authentic self, you are more enthusiastic and fully charged and dismiss other’s opinions about you.  They are judging and when we judge less we actually feel better.  We are all entitled to our own opinions and we will have differing opinions. 
3. Let go of the toxic people in your life – or if cannot let them go completely because they are family, then limit your exposure to them.  Most of the time toxic people will want you to stay where they are.  If you truly love yourself, let them go.  This can be one of the most difficult. 
4. Remember, Your value doesn’t lie in how your body looks. Know where your value lies. My value is my energy, enthusiasm, caring heart, and inspiring commitment to help others reach their full potential.
5. Allow yourself to make mistakes. Mistakes cause us to have growth.  Please oh please, when you make a mistake, eliminate the negative self talk.  That is not self-love.  Instead say this……wow that was an incredible experience and here is what I learned.  This is the tweak I will make so when this happens again, I can get better. 

 There you have it my friends.  My 5 tips on how to start loving yourself more. 

1. Stop comparing yourself to other
2. Don’t worry about other people’s opinions.
3. Let go of the toxic people in your life.
4. Remember, your value doesn’t lie in how your body looks.
5. Allow yourself to make mistakes.

 During this LOVE MONTH, My hope for you is that you will appreciate yourself, honor yourself and love yourself more.

Until next time, stay focused, stay positive and continue to find new ways of having fun AND

NO MATTER WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO BE, DO or HAVE, do it with Self-Love first.