We frequently hear the term Self Love and we see quotes about it posted on our Social Media platforms. But what does it really mean? Well. I think it is open to interpretation based on who you are and where you are in your journey of life. Let me explain…. A few years ago Self Love to me would have meant having a fillet of baked salmon and some millet and steamed vegetables. That would have equated to an act of self love because my typical
meals at that time were tuna (from the can) and pasta (refined carbohydrate) and sweetcorn (also canned).
But now self love has taken on a larger meaning and is not limited to the food I consume. Don’t get me wrong, the food we eat is important and we can discuss that more in another post. But Self love means loving myself enough to care about every aspect of me.
Let’s start with my emotional wellness – I used to run away/ withdraw from people and places if it affected my emotional balance. Yes that’s right it was my default setting, somethings coming that I can’t control…..on your marks, get set, Go!
I love myself enough now to identify the pattern that has run my life and reflect on why I let it. I decided to do some digging to understand where it all stemmed from and why I was afraid to face my emotions head on. This took commitment to love myself and soothe myself through the pain of my past and embark on a journey of emotional maturity. Once I confronted my emotions, I realized that I was afraid, I had been living in fear. Fear of the
unknown and it had been stifling my growth, so I embarked on a Personal Development course which helped to hone in on my emotions and also discover my intellectual wellness.
My next act of self love involved taking a hard look at my social circle. This one was really difficult. There have been many tears during the process. I never realized that I had created a story about who I was, and who the people in my life were. I had even created roles and expectations for myself and others.
The boxes that I had created and lived in were suffocating me. I LET GO, and stopped holding on so tightly and the people that weren’t meant to be in my inner circle fell away, some stayed and I also built a new community of people that are in alignment to who I truly am in this moment. The difficulty was in the letting go. As I worked through that process I noticed shifts in my health. I began to drink a little more wine, eat an extra bag of crisps here and there, skip my morning trips to the gym and crave and indulge in too much
fried foods. Before I knew it I had gained 20 pounds…just like that! It led me to make the commitment to honor my well-being, disclaimer, I am still a work in progress and do not profess to have it all figured out but what I will tell you is that I am committed to my continued experiential learning and evolution into a better me every single day. I feel healthy, so good about myself, my life and my choices. You deserve to feel like that too!
If you asked me to define what self love means to me, It is the willingness to accept who I am, own my flaws without self condemnation, let go of my stories, expectations and propel myself into transformation through the creation of new possibilities!
“Allow yourself to be in acceptance of where you are in your journey, then you can choose where and what your next steps will be from a place of discernment.”
