Love Yourself Enough

Ah, Valentine's Day. The feeling of love is in the air, maybe just a little more than most other days...at least let's hope so! ❤️

Yet beyond the usual focus on romantic love that permeates today's celebrations, here's why loving yourself - including loving yourself enough to make sometimes-difficult decisions - is essential as you go through your everyday life. This holds true whether it's Valentine's Day or not, and whether you're single or in a relationship or anywhere in between.

I've written about these lessons in the past, and certain experiences in recent weeks have given me pause to re-examine and refresh my perspective on what it means to love someone else...and to love myself.  

This Valentine's Day and always, I invite you to love yourself enough to do the following things. To love yourself enough to...

...be deeply honest with yourself about what you need, even when it means admitting you want something different than you've been saying you want, or when it means admitting you're not (yet) where you want to be in life. Really witnessing and articulating your deepest, truest longings is the first step in getting where you want to go.

...ask for help when you need it. It's courageous and humbling, and doing so is a way to open the door and allow love into your life.

...be able to openly, graciously and gratefully receive the help you are offered. By doing so, you allow the love to flow freely rather than blocking or deflecting it.

...express your emotions in a healthy way. Stifling and choking down your true feelings is a recipe for anxiety, depression and inappropriate expression. Let your feelings exist; acknowledge them, let them out, and at risk of stating the obvious, do it without harming yourself or others. Cry, wail, walk, run or privately pound a couch cushion. Breathe, deeply. It'll help you process and eliminate the excess hormones that build up in your body when you suppress big emotions, which is just as important physically as it is emotionally.

...protect your boundaries, respect your limits and know when to walk away. Endless sacrificing at your own expense on a one-way street without reciprocation does nothing but deplete your reserves and leave you empty.

...honour your values and ethics. Living in integrity with what you believe to be good and true is the only way to live in peace and harmony with yourself.

...admit when you've made a mistake...and to forgive yourself for making it.

...stay true to your dreams, even when someone else belittles them. Especially when that someone is a person who has lost sight of their own dreams.

...love people even if they're acting unlovable. Give yourself the same grace that I hope you'd give yourself on those days when you feel unlovable, and the love you'd want others to give to you on days when you're not at your best.

...give yourself the gift of self-care and joy. Being kind to yourself and seeking out ways to put a genuine smile on your face are sure ways to build up your reserves, so that you've actually got something good to give others.

...do the right thing: the thing that feels right in your heart and your gut AND your head, when you look at the long-term picture. The long-term outcomes that you experience are the culmination of all your short-term decisions, so always move in the direction of the things that you aspire to and hope for.

...say 'yes', when doing so aligns with your values, ethics, needs and desires, and is driven by love...even when saying 'yes' is hard.  

...say 'no', when doing so aligns with your values, ethics, needs and desires, and is driven by love...even when saying 'no' is hard.  

I wish YOU enough love, on this day and all days.  

What are some of the ways that you love yourself in your life?

xo