How to love yourself

How to love yourself

As for parents, mothers especially, the ones that nurture, will nurture and love the family unconditionally. Mothers have a natural tendency to give, to do, to worry and to keep giving… until they forget about themselves and their own well-being.

That’s why, today, we are going to talk about how to slow down and start loving ‘you’.

However, before we do that, why is it important to talk about self-love?

Because, in order to love someone unconditionally, we need to understand how to love ourselves unconditionally first and foremost. Without knowing self-love, we can’t understand what love actually means, and thus are unable to love another person.

How to love yourself?

Do you worry about other people’s needs, such as personal space, their leisure,  supporting them, loving them, appreciation of their work… and never think about what your own needs are?

By thinking, worrying and making sure other people’s needs are met first, you are literally not looking after your own well being and needs. As they say, if you never ask for your own needs to be met, you are not allowing yourself to receive the help, love and support you need in your life.

Why self-love?

Self care is not selfish

You can’t love anyone properly unless you love yourself unconditionally.

By caring and loving yourself, you are allowing you to:

  • be happy and enjoy great experiences in life and feel the joy of what life can offer
  • have great relationships with people around you
  • experience the pleasures in your life, like being healthy, achieving your goals, finding your passion
  • be supported in every level of life, be loved, treasured, appreciated and valued.

Be happy

Slow down and allow yourself to do things that align with WHO you are without having to please everyone around you.  Learn how to set boundaries and say no.

Relationships

When you are feeling well, you are honouring your well-being and who you are, which in turn translates the love and nurturing towards the people around you.

Goals and passion

Give yourself the opportunity to fully express and fulfill your passion. If you love to sing, join a local choir or sing loudly in the shower.  If you love painting, find the time to incorporate painting and drawing in your spare time.

Be supported

Don’t hesitate to ask for help. If you need help with the house chores, delegate duties and ask your family to help. I can assure you, your children would more than happy to chip in their part. Alternatively, invest in a cleaner.

I know it is not the easiest thing for many people to ask for help, myself included. I used to believe I can do it on my own… However, in the long run, it did not yield positive results, as everyone knows what happens when someone is operating from a space  where they feel overwhelmed and tired.

So as you can see, by incorporating self-care in your life, you are giving yourself permission to be happy, honouring WHO you are, and set out to achieve WHAT you want in life, because you can’t love anyone properly unless you love yourself unconditionally.