It’s officially the season of L-O-V-E, which makes this a great opportunity for us to discuss the BEST form of love: self-love, and today, we’re going to talk about 3 creative techniques to practice self-love. You wake up to you every day so you and I have to make sure you are on the right track with this relationship with yourself. Yes, let’s get right to it! I know this time of the year can feel a bit lonely at times, but not to worry! My dear queen, this is the year for you to love on yourself more than you ever have. After all, it is up to us to set the tone for how we want to be loved by someone else, right? Right. Self-love is about so much more than what we may think. It’s about the way that you treat yourself, the way you perceive yourself, and the way that you take care of yourself. It’s about saying “yes” to yourself when you’re not feeling your best. It’s about knowing that you may have a few rough days, but you are deserving of the good days. It’s about Protecting your peace. Protecting your mind. Protecting your energy. It’s about the affirmations that you declare over yourself because you ARE amazing, you ARE worthy, you ARE beautiful and you ARE enough! Take yourself on a date, treat yourself to a spa day, buy yourself some new clothes or anything special, do whatever makes you feel good about yourself.   Here are 3 creative techniques to practice self-love:  

1. Treat Your Ego Like a Child

Picture this: You’re 5 years old and you fell asleep on the ride home one night. When you finally wake up, it’s the following morning, you’re in your bed in your cartoon pajamas, still tucked in trying to figure out when all of this occurred. At the time, I’m sure you were extremely confused. However, whoever you were with knew how important it was for you to remain asleep because you were sleeping soundly. They knew exactly what you needed at that moment and they made sure that they did not disrupt you. In your adulthood, there may be times when you’ll have to treat your ego with the same level of care. In other words, treat it like a child. Ask yourself what your needs are so you can begin to take care of yourself in a way that promotes self-care. Remember self-care is about recharging, rejuvenating so you can feel at your best.   This is something that you have to practice so it’ll start to become a habit. It’s very easy to neglect your needs because you may feel like everyone else’s needs are more important, especially if you have a family of your own. As stated before, you matter and your wants and desires are just as significant as the people around you. Try my 90 Day Feel to Heal Journal (Digital or Paperback) so you can begin focusing on your needs.  

2. Slack Equality

Do me a quick favor. Release your shoulders from your ears. Unclench your jaw. Remove your tongue from the roof of your mouth. Relax your forehead. Flatten your hands. Breath in deeply and then breathe out. We don’t realize how much tension that we hold in our bodies and a lot of that comes from the stress that we put on ourselves. You have to cut yourself some slack when it comes to the everyday burdens that this life may carry. You deserve grace and you deserve peace. Self-compassion through this process is going to be key. Imagine how you would console a friend if they were going through something. Think of the things you’d say to them to uplift them and make them feel better. It’s an easy thing to do because you want them to be okay and you want them to take it easy on themselves. That is something that should also apply to you and your life. You should also want that for yourself. It’s okay to tell it like it is when it comes to your own life, but you also have to show yourself an equal amount of love in return. That’s really what slack equality is all about. It’s about cutting yourself an equal amount of slack so that you can stop being so hard on yourself.  

3. Personal Policies a.k.a Boundaries

What if you’re at an amusement park and you choose not to abide by the policies? More than likely, you will be asked to leave the establishment. What if you disobey the policies that were set forth by your employer? That could easily lead to them writing you up. How about the policies that have been drawn out in school? They may expel you. You want to be mindful of these policies to avoid negative consequences, correct? Now, don’t you believe that your personal policies (boundaries) should be treated with the same respect? I surely do. If one of your personal policies is to make sure that you no longer invest your time and energy into one-sided friendships, you should not break it because that will prevent you from feeling drained. What if another one of your personal policies is to say “no” to things that you used to say “yes” to? If you break that policy, you run the risk of agreeing to things that you’re uncomfortable agreeing with. You are not obligated to break your personal policies for anyone. Keeping track of your own policies, and living by them daily, will allow you to give yourself the utmost level of self-care. These are just a few techniques that will help you on your journey of self-care and healing. Remember, you are constantly evolving and things are always changing. That is why it is important to come up with new ways to take care of yourself because it will give you a different outlook on the way that you shower yourself with love. It takes time to form new habits, but it is not an impossible task. So, begin adding these techniques into your daily routine and watch how quickly things start to shift in your life.   Looking for more? Click on the link below and sign up for the VIP list, with no cost to you, that includes tips right to your inbox every Wednesday. Click here now to sign up!