Happy Self-Love Day!
Yes, it’s actually a thing – Self-Love Day is February 13th and I’m glad we have it!
Hey, I mean if we can have National Pound Cake Day, National Sock Day, and National Buffet Day (yes, these are actual things), then by all means we should have National Self-Love Day!
And I’m glad we do. In fact, shouldn’t everyday be Self-Love Day especially for us women?
It’s so important for us to take care of ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally. When we begin to put more attention on what we need in those areas, as well as what we WANT for ourselves in our lives, we become not only healthier, but happier as a result.
This month, I’m encouraging my community to begin (or recommit) to journal writing. As women, we can spend a lot of time looking “out” and making sure that we are taking care of everyone else’s needs.
The habit of writing a journal forces you to make time for yourself and allows you to look “in”. When we look “in” without judgment, we can learn so much about ourselves – why we make the decisions we make, why we feel the way we do, why we act the way we act, and why we spend time with the people we spend time with, for example.
Notice that I emphasize “without judgment” above, because aren’t we good at that? We’re pros at judging ourselves, seeing our faults, and making ourselves feel like we’re not good enough.
When you write in your journal, the key is to approach yourself not with judgment, rather with curiosity, like you’re getting to know the person that you are.
Journal writing doesn’t have to have a big agenda. It doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, I do something called Morning Pages every morning before I start my day. The longer I keep this habit up, the more benefits I see. I don’t overthink it or make sure I have the perfect journal to write in and my favorite pen. I just do it on the back of accidentally printed pages I didn’t use, for the purpose of making it “imperfect” (and because I don’t want to waste paper) and so can you.
Really, I make this habit even easier for myself by doing it for only 10 minutes every morning (it calls for three pages, but 10 minutes is right for me, which comes out to about one page). The most important thing is to find what’s right for you. If you need some assistance, let me know. I’d love to help you get started because it’s been so helpful for me.
So today, on Self-Love Day, I hope that you make some time to look “in” and ask yourself not only what you need, but what you want as well. Forget the “should’s” and make today the start of what you “want”. Maybe journal writing isn’t something you want to do and that’s totally fine. If it’s not, find something that you want to do that will work for you.
Whatever you choose to do, make it a healthy daily practice. Like I said, I do just 10 minutes a day. It’s a great “brain sweep” before I start my day and it’s absolutely doable, even on the busiest days because I make it a priority. Like they say, “If it’s important to you, you’ll do it.” In other words, “If YOU are important to YOU, you will do it.”
Make yourself a priority and commit to asking yourself and giving yourself what you need everyday – then making sure you receive it.
Sending you LOVE today and everyday,
