5 ways to practice self-love
This week is all about self-love in my little Burnout Recovery bubble, and whether you’ve got someone to buy overpriced chocolate for or not, I want to encourage you to make time for self-love this week as well!
Because here’s the thing. Self-love and self-care is important, not just for you but for the world and people around you as well. When we make time for ourselves, we can restore our depleted energy levels, we can rest and reset, we can do things that make us feel good, and we can listen to ourselves and our needs and give ourselves what we need.
And that leads to us being, overall; more happy, more balanced and more resilient. And that’s good for everyone!
So here are some ways to practice self-love this week. Why not give them a try for yourself?
1. Say NO to stuff!
Say no to the things you don't actually want to do. And use that time for the things you DO. Saying no to stuff can be an absolute self-care game changer. It gives you back that time that you so desperately need to do the things that actually serve you. Let’s be realistic, we don’t get to only do the stuff we want to do all the time. But if the thought of saying NO to something you genuinely have no interest in doing is a novel concept to you, then you are definitely not doing the stuff YOU want to do enough!
2. Do a Negativity Brain Dump.
Grab a notebook and write down everything that's on your mind, get it out of your head and onto paper. You’ll have heard me talk about gratitude journaling plenty of times, well you don’t only get benefits from writing down the good stuff! When your thoughts are taking over your brain, sometimes the best thing you can do is to get them OUT. Write down everything that’s pissing you off, everything that’s worrying you, everything that you’re afraid of, everything that is making you feel sad. Get it out of your head and onto paper - it helps make sense of it all.
3. Move your body.
Walk, dance, do yoga - move in some way and get energy flowing in your body. This might look like 5 minutes dancing around the kitchen to your favourite song, or going on a long (if a bit soggy this week) walk with your dog, or a really juicy yoga class - or something else entirely! Moving your body always helps to make you feel good, so get moving, and you'll feel better for it.
4. Do a Loving Kindness Meditation
Taking some time to actively practice self-care & self-love through Meditation is one of those things you can do for yourself with this extra time you’ve got from saying NO to those work drinks you didn’t want to go to. If you’ve never done this kind of practice before, it might feel a bit wanky and awkward, but my god, it works. Search for Loving Kindness meditations on your favourite app, or come join my FREE live class on Zoom this evening at 7.30PM (GMT)
5. Be Brave & be Honest with yourself.
This is sometimes the most difficult, most brave, and most game changing thing you can do for yourself. Ask yourself what you want, and listen to the answer. And then do it. I know, I know, it’s easier said than done. But once you do actually listen and do that thing, make that change, take that action that your true, deep, inner self has been desperately longing for you to do for YOU… that’s when the magic happens.
I went on a little trip down memory lane this weekend…
I looked back at my journal from early 2020 this week, as I’ve been retracing the steps of my Burnout Recovery journey for my new podcast (among some other projects) and in one of the very first pages, in a section labeled; ‘What is the biggest goal you would like to accomplish this year?’ I’d written three simple words:
Change. My. Life.
That was the day I let myself be brave, and honest. I asked myself what I wanted and I listened to the answer. And it doesn’t matter if you’re not ready for that kind of goal yet. Your journey doesn’t have to look like mine. But it starts with this stuff, learning how to love yourself. And learning how to SHOW love to yourself.
So, what will you do for you this week?
Happy Valentine’s Day, my loves.
Mx
