As today is the day we all celebrate love I wanted to get a post up on loving oneself. And if you know me- you know that this post is going to involve some story time: During winter break of my junior year of college I broke up with my boyfriend. It was an ugly breakup and I was struggling being back at home for the holidays, with little to do and what felt like no one to talk to. Growing up my little sister and I shared a bathroom, meaning every morning she and I would wake up and meet each other in the mirror, brushing our teeth in unison, fighting over who would get to shower first. I swear this was some mad form of bonding my parents had thought to force upon us, but because of this particular day, I’m glad they did.
My sister knew how I was feeling; I’d told her all about the breakup and even though I wasn’t showing it, deep down she knew I was hurting. So one morning, right before New Year’s Eve, I awoke as usual and headed for the bathroom to begin my morning routine. As I walked up to my side of the mirror, I found little post-it note hearts covering my side, scribbled with sweet sayings in my sister’s humorously kiddish handwriting. (She’s going to be a doctor, so it’s allowed!) Each post-it heart read: “SMILE – You are STRONG.” “SMILE- You are Healthy.” “SMILE – You are Beautiful” “SMILE – You are Loyal” “SMILE – You are looked up to <3” and most importantly “SMILE – You are LOVED.” Out of all 17 post-it notes, that was the one that encompassed them all.
After bursting into tears, running into my sister’s bedroom (morning breath and all) and jumping on a slightly grumpy/sleepy Amanda, I thanked her for reminding me that where love is lost, more love is always right around the corner. As long as I held love inside of me, I would be just fine.
So what do you do when you can’t let a moment go? You save those post-it notes and frame them! Which is exactly what I did. And come spring semester, I drove back to college with all the love I’d ever need tucked safely in my trunk.
The moral of my story? At the end of the day, the love you show yourself will be what you show others. After all – if you can’t feel the love within you, how will you have any to share? So – whether you’re celebrating Valentines Day,
For every day this week, you’re going to do three acts of self-love to show yourself some TLC. Every day should include one good thing for your body, one good thing for your tummy, and one good thing for your soul. Here is an example of one of mine:
Thursday-
- Studio 3 Spin with Bobby (Fitness)
- Sushi (Food)
- Hot Cocoa (Fun)
After a week, you should start to see two things:
- That there are things you currently do during the week that are acts of self-love. Hopefully recognizing this will allow you to enjoy your routines, and appreciate the time you take to make your week a little bit sweeter.
- That you are seriously missing some TLC in your life, and that now you have a week’s worth of examples to go off of! Seriously – taking the time to “treat-yo-self” doesn’t have to be hard, or cost anything more than a little time and attention. Enjoy the new habits you’ve created for yourself and love every minute of them.
I want to stress that this self-love challenge shouldn’t cost you a dime. In fact, I’m creating this challenge to show you that you cannot buy happiness. Sure, a cute new shirt can take me from 0 to 100 real quick, but let me tell you, a cup of Swiss Miss at 8:45pm while watching Law & Order SVU makes me just as happy, costs me nothing, and is something I can do on repeat without breaking my budget.
Self-love should be a part of your weekly routine, not some one-off purchase or win. This way you can always achieve your self-love no matter what financial situation you’re currently in. Remember,
Last, but not least, if no one has told you this today- YOU are strong, healthy, beautiful, loyal, smart, kind, funny, important, needed by many, looked up to, and most importantly – loved.
If you want to participate in the 1-Week Self-Love Challenge with me – simply post your daily acts of self-love to your
