February is the month of love. But, self-love is probably even more important than love for anyone else.Why? You are the only person that you have to live with for the rest of your life.
The website PhyschCentral says, “without self-love, you’re likely to be highly self-critical and fall into people-pleasing and perfectionism. You’re more likely to tolerate abuse or mistreatment from others. You may neglect your own needs and feelings because you don’t value yourself. And you may self-sabotage or make decisions that aren’t in your own best interest.
Self-love is the foundation that allows us to be assertive, set boundaries and create healthy relationships with others, practice self-care, pursue our interests and goals, and feel proud of who we are.”
So then, you may be thinking about how to go about learning to love yourself. Try a few of the following challenges and watch the love grow.
- Write 5 Things You Love About Yourself
- Say NO! and mean it and without explanations.
- Is it something that isn’t serving you? Are you the go-to person because you always say yes? It’s okay to say no!!
- Find a new hobby or pick up one that you put aside. It can be very fulfilling to create something with your own hands and creativity.
- Write down 5 things you are grateful for today, do it every day even. It’s hard to be negative when you are grateful.
- Make your own mantras or affirmations. Put them on sticky notes and post them around the house. Repeat them daily, or anytime you need to change your negative to a positive.
- Don’t believe everything you think. There is an inner critic inside of us trying to keep us small and safe. The downside is this also stops us from living a full life. Develop a relationship with your Voice of Wisdom. The voice that quiets the voices of judgment.
- Have an intimate “me time.” Sit with yourself, talk with yourself. Get to know what’s going on inside, try to know the inner child, and ask yourself if you really want to transform your life better, are you ready?
- Pamper yourself. Take a bath with Epsom salts, essential oils, and candles. Binge-watch a series on Netflix. Skip the dishes today. Go get a massage. Do what feels good to you.
When you love and care for yourself, your cup will be filled and life will seem so much better. And when life feels better, easier, the symptoms of your perimenopause or menopause may not seem so bad either.
