Welcome to a new month and yes, while it’s the shortest one, it can sometimes feel the hardest. Perhaps because of the bombardment of all things love in the air? Don’t get me wrong, I love love! It’s a magical, beautiful, mysterious thing, but when you feel like you are lacking it February can start to make you feel grouchy.
We’ve heard "love yourself first" more times than we can count and damn if only it was as easy as it was made out to be. Pardon my french, but self-love is f*cking hard. It’s presented to us as a perpetual and permanent goal. If you love yourself now, you love yourself always, but I find this just isn't the case.
Like any feeling, self love cannot last forever. So next time you’re feeling incapable of mustering up self-love and start wondering “am I broken?” hear my voice yelling a big ol’ “NOPE! You’re just HUMAN!”
There will be plenty of days you feel like 100% THAT bitch, so there will also be plenty when you just don’t. Both will pass. And on those days where self-love feels impossible, shift the narrative. Focus on self-respect, self-worth and honoring yourself. It is an incredibly powerful thing to acknowledge that even if you are struggling to love who you are, you can still value your core beliefs, your energy and the space that you take up. Self-love is lovely, but self-worth is timeless.
Here is my favorite exercise for reclaiming my self - worth when I'm feeling wobbly.
Thought Exercises
If you’re up for it, grab a sheet of paper and a writing utensil. Something just hits different when you put pen or pencil to paper.
Write down your top three core values/beliefs: list how you honor these in your daily practices, habits and life happenings.
Write down three non-physical qualities about yourself that you admire as well as three reasons why you workout that don't have to do with changing your appearance. List one way you can continue watering and nourishing these seeds of your being for each quality and reason.