With Valentine’s Day coming up quickly, our thoughts naturally turn to the topic of love…..loving our spouses, our children, and our friends. But today, I wanted to chat a little bit about loving YOURSELF.
First, I want to start off by saying that making self-love a priority in your life is neither selfish nor silly. The way we view and treat ourselves has a direct result in how we respond in all of our other relationships.
In short friends, it’s necessary and once you learn to put it into practice, you will likely find that it will spill over into every other area of your life.
So, how do we practice more of this “self-love”, you ask? You’re paying attention, awesome! Here are some simple and effective ways to do just that!
1. GIVE UP THE COMPARISON GAME.
It’s doing you no good, friends. God made us who we are for a reason. If there’s anything I’ve learned over the last year or so, it’s that beauty (both inside and out!) comes in many, many shapes and sizes. God gives us each unique strengths, abilities and physical attributes and I think it’s one of the greatest testaments of how much He loves us. He loves us too much to make us all the same. Embrace what He’s given YOU!
2. REFUSE TO SPEAK UNKIND WORDS TO YOURSELF.
This is an important one, guys! I had no idea how often I would say things like, “I’m such an idiot, I can’t believe I did that!” or “I can’t do that, I’ll look stupid!” until a friend brought it to my attention a year or so ago. Like me, you might not think much of it when you do it, but our words about us have a profound effect on how we view ourselves. Think about it, you wouldn’t say those things out loud about anyone else, so why would we do it to ourselves? Speak LIFE-GIVING words, friends! Don’t forget…that’s one of God’s creations you’re talking about!
3. DO SOMETHING YOU WERE CREATED TO DO EVERY DAY.
I’ve always been endlessly fascinated by the idea that God created us with specific talents to use and enjoy for the purpose of glorifying Him. For me, I’ve always found that being creative in some way is how I best display that in my life. I feel like it’s one way that I can uniquely make an impact on the lives of others for Him. I truly believe He uses our gifts and abilities to work through us in order to bring about His message to the lives of those around us.
4. PRACTICE THE ART OF SAYING ‘NO’ WHEN YOU NEED TO.
Hopefully we’ve learned the lesson already, but I think the key is to not only be able to kindly say “no” to too many things that are filling our plates and taking away from vital relationships in our lives, but it’s also to say “no” without suffering an overwhelming amount of guilt. I occasionally still do this, but not to the degree I used to. I used to finally work up the courage to tell Susie Q that I couldn’t help out with x project, but I’d feel so bad about it, that I might as well have just said yes. Ha!
Honestly, I’ve found that the only one who really takes it too seriously is us. When someone tells you no to something, you generally just say, “no problem!” and move on, right? Bask in the freedom of saying no when you need to, ladies!
5. BELIEVE GOD HAS A PLAN AND A PURPOSE FOR YOU.
We’ve probably all heard this a dozen or more times, right? There’s a reason for it. It’s true and vital to our life walk with God! He’s had a plan from the very beginning and He’s got a purpose for your life! It’s a wonderful one with more opportunities to make an impact for Him than you could possibly imagine. I do want to say this though…if you didn’t do another single thing with your life, it’s ok…because Jesus did it ALL and covered it ALL some 2,000 years ago on the cross for you and for me. My prayer is that you live in the fullness of what He did for us!
(Photography by Vivid Dream Photography)
Similar Sweater || Similar Moto Jacket || Similar shorts || Over the Knee Boots || Louis Vuitton Backpack || Earrings
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Such a good post with great reminders!
Wow, such a great post and reminder babe!! I love these tips, they’re so important!! & your outfit is so cute, I am loving all of the pink!
Kileen
cute & little
These are such amazing tips! Self love is super important!
Liz
What a great outfit! I love the color combo!
ahh I love this list! the negative words to yourself is so easy to overlook! Happy almost V-Day!
These are all great ways to practice self love. I love all those pretty pink pieces!
Saying “No” has been a struggle for me over the past two years! I would love to get to a place where I feel more confident saying no and sticking to my gut when I do. I am so thankful for God’s grace that can say “no” to things and people when I can’t.
-xo, Azanique | http://www.lotsofsass.com
So many amazing tips! I’ve gotten really good at saying no. haha 🙂 I love this look too! You look amazing in blush pink!
I love that you mentioned to stop speaking unkindly to ourselves. It is so true! Our words have power and when we use them in a negative manner, it takes a tool on us. It might affect us right away but our words can catch up to us if we are not careful.
xx
Cristina
http://www.timelessoptimist.com
Self care is so important (I’m realizing that more and more every day!) and these are all such great tips!
#5 is something I need to remember but so often seem to forget. Thank you for such a beautiful post. I found all of your 5 tips to be so accurate and things I need to remind myself of more often!
xx
Lauren