Happy Valentines to all the lovely Ladies who celebrate this day. Being honest, I don’t really like to celebrate this day. Dan send me a lovely and funny card this morning, which was absolutely lovely to receive – especially as he does not tell me often enough how much he loves me. I on the other hand was very disorganized today and not given him a card and unlikely will today (guess I am in the doghouse). Generally, I think its a big marketing buzz where prices in restaurants, cards and flower shops are inflated. It should not be one day a year we celebrate love. We should be more kind, compassionate and tell your loved ones how much we love and care for them every day.
However, this year I thought I will also send a reminder out that it is not just important to tell others how much we love them, but also practice self-love and compassion with yourself. This is so important as we can only be the best version of ourselves for others if we sometimes put ourselves first.
With self-compassion and self-love, we give ourselves the same kindness and care we’d give to a good friend. What does this mean in practice?
It means that you are not deprioritizing yourself and your needs every time someone else needs or wants something. It means giving yourself time away from the family chaos without feeling guilty. It means switching your mindset from “I have to do this” to “I get to do this” in many situations. It mean to not rush from one thing to another, to take a bath, to get that massage or sit down and read that book that lies on your nightstand unread for month.
BUT – and here is the thing that we often forget – it also means sometimes to give yourself a pep-talk to go to the gym, to stick to your goals and to show up if you want consistent results. After all, that’s what you would also tell a friend. We are so quick as giving ourselves excuses why we cannot go the gym, why we cannot eat healthy but at the end of the day it will get in the way of us being the best version of ourselves and holds us back in achieving our goals.
If you need some help with Self-love and self-compassion and achieving you goals, send me an email with the subject line PEPTALK.
Happy Self-Love Day,
Cathrin