Loving yourself completely, will change everything.
It's time to be the best version of YOU, and to do that you have to absolutely, whole heartedly love and believe in yourself like crazy. It's not vain to do so, it's actually humble. Show thanks to the Universe, God, Buddha (whoever you believe in), that you're so thankful that they made you, YOU.
We all have special qualities, features and characteristics which make us individual. It's natural to compare, judge and hate on ourselves for the things that make us feel ugly, self conscious or not good enough. What a lot of people don't realise, is hiding these things, or hating on these things, does not do us any favours. In this blog, I am going to help you with a few techniques and examples to transform your views and ideas of yourself.
"Demonstrate love by giving it, unconditionally, to yourself. And as you do, you will attract others into your life who will love you without conditions." - Paul Ferrini
YOU
First things first. YOU are incredible. There is someone in this world, whether you know them or not, who admires you. They might admire your sense of humour, your hair, your style, your legs or your charisma. Just like you admire things about other people, people admire things about you.
I don't know about you, but there have been a few times where I have said something like 'uhh, my hair looks so dry,' or 'this dress doesn't suit my body type,' and whoever I'm with, will have the complete opposite opinion. Not because they're lying to make me feel better, but because we are all SO picky and hard on ourselves, and majority of the time nobody else would notice or care about these tiny things we obsess and feel self conscious over. Think about it the other way around. How many times has a friend said something and you've thought 'I have never even noticed that spot on your face,' or 'I love your freckles, I can't believe you hate them!'
Next time you're feeling self conscious about something, remind yourself that you are the only one judging. (If other people are judging, then you don't need those people in your life, and judging only comes from jealousy.)
EXAMPLE: I used to absolutely hate the gap in my two front teeth and I was willing to spend thousands on braces to get rid of it. I was holding off because of money and auditions, and in the meantime, I started to notice a lot of people complimenting my gap. Now, other people's opinions shouldn't change yours, but in this instance it made me feel a little more confident. I forgot about it for a while, and I started to make an effort to love my gap. I would see it in photos, and instead of looking at it with disgust, I would look at it and be thankful. I liked that it was different and I liked how it shaped my face. Overtime, I genuinely and completely learned to love and accept my gap!
An exercise to assist Self Love
Lie down alone, somewhere quiet and peaceful. Close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. Once you have come to a place of calm, imagine yourself standing in an empty room. See yourself come out of your body, and rise above. You're now looking down at you, but from an outsiders point of view. You're not you anymore, so you don't have to feel uncomfortable complimenting yourself. Now go crazy. Really look at yourself, and force yourself to realise what you love about yourself. When you see something you don't like, be thankful for it and force yourself to see the beauty in it.
Self love doesn't just make you feel comfortable in your own skin, it also opens you up to so many more opportunities, relationships and circumstances that you block when you're in a state of self consciousness. Now, you're not going to change, unless you truly want to change. Decide that feeling comfortable and confident in your own skin and attracting amazing new opportunities and people is important to you. This literally makes me so excited writing this! I can't wait until you see changes!
YOU are the most important person in your life
Again, this is not selfish. YOU are the most important person in your life, because in order to help and be there for the ones you love, you have to be completely happy and in tune with yourself. To do this, you have to love yourself. Self love needs to be a priority. If everyone loved and accepted themselves, there would be no competing and no judgement. When you're happy within yourself and in a state of alignment and gratitude, you're constantly giving love, positivity and happiness, and the world needs more of that.
Because she competes with no one, no one can compete with her. - Lao Tze
Help others love themselves!
Helping other people feels good, and when you help others it will always come back to you. I make an effort to compliment my family, friends and strangers as much as I can. Not only does it boost their confidence and put a smile on their face, but it also helps you have realisations about yourself that you might not have been open to before.
Forgive your mistakes.
We all make mistakes, big and small. While exploring self love, you must remember to be kind to yourself and easily forgive. It's very easy to stress and feel guilty over something you've done, but I'm here to tell you something... that is a waste of time and energy! You made that mistake for a reason, and one day soon it will all make sense. For now... be kind, forgive yourself and move on.
Protect yourself and your energy!
Be careful who you surround yourself with! Make a conscious effort to limit negative situations and people in your life. If you have to be in these situations or around these people, KILL THEM WITH POSITIVITY AND KINDNESS! (And try your best to not let them drain or affect your amazing energy!)
Enjoy life!
We feel good when we're doing things that make us happy right?! It's much easier to practice self love when you're surrounded by the people and situations you want! So get yourself to that! Do whatever it takes to get the job you want, surround yourself with the people that lift you up, not bring you down! Create a life that YOU love. Don't worry about what others think. It's a pretty amazing world, and we can make of it whatever we like.
Have fun, be bold, be YOU!
Cle xxx
April 22, 2018