You Gotta Love Yourself

In the words of Mary J. Blige "you gotta love yourself"! If you were to take an honest assessment right now, where would you rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 for self-love/confidence? Pause for a moment and think about that.

As women, we tend to be overly critical of ourselves. Couple that with all the images we see on TV and in magazines, all the cosmetic procedures and botox, not to mention social media, it's hard not to compare ourselves to others. But here's the reality...none of them are YOU!

In her 2011 talk at TEDx San Francisco, Mel Robbins, author of The 5 Second Rule, mentioned that scientists estimate the probability of your being born at about one in 400 trillion. How crazy is that! You are a miracle and were uniquely designed!

Like most people, for the majority of my life, I felt I wasn't enough. Wasn't smart enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, funny enough, etc. I could go on, but I know you understand where I'm going with this.

In 2012, when I hit my rock bottom, I was also at my highest weight ever, unhappy & depressed and felt like a complete failure in all aspects of my life. Let me tell you, that's a hard place to come back from. It was a slow process, but my life is radically transformed because I took inspired action from that place of darkness. I would like to share with you some of the steps I took that led me to where I am today.

• Affirmations: Some people say affirmations are silly, but I wholeheartedly support using them. The reason being, you are replacing negative self-talk with new positive self-talk. You can't just erase those old tapes, they must be replaced with new ones and affirmations do just that. For example, when I was feeling like I was not good enough, I would state "I am enough, simply because I am!". In Abundance Now by Lisa Nichols, there is a great exercise called Expose the Lies that walks you through this process.
• Books & Podcasts: I used to be a couch potato watching TV every night. Now, I read books and listen to podcasts that inspire me. Feeding my mind offers me new perspectives & insights and I am constantly learning and growing.
• Eating Healthy & Exercise: How you fuel your body matters. The food we eat can cause joint inflammation & pain, bloating, lack of energy, etc. Check out The Real Food Grocery Guide by Maria Marlowe for help making smart & healthy food choices. Exercise is not just for weight loss, it also creates more brain cells, releases endorphins which reduce stress & anxiety, increases your energy, reduces the risk of chronic disease and improves your sleep.
• Love on Yourself: When is the last time you pampered yourself with a spa day, massage, bubble bath, mani/pedi, etc? Scheduling time for ourselves is often the first thing we stop doing when stressed, but it is vitally important for our wellbeing and success.
• Inner Circle: As we discussed previously, your inner circle greatly affects you. Be mindful of who you allow in your inner circle, as they can help or hinder you.
• Mentors/Coaches: Mentors/coaches help you see what you are unable to see in yourself. In addition, they also give you tough love, offer new perspectives and hold you accountable. I connected with mentors and coaches who I knew would help me progress further than I ever could on my own. That decision was the one that propelled me from struggle to success QUICKLY. Here's the reality, you can struggle on your own, or you can be open to receiving help along the journey. A word of advice when searching for a coach, find one whose values are in alignment with yours.

You are not alone! Let's start your journey NOW through my 7 Day Self-Love Challenge! Grab a friend or two and let's reclaim your power and authentic voice with our daily action steps. Click below to join for FREE!

Here's to another week of living your life by design, not by default!

Take my 7 Day Self-Love Challenge