Six Months of Self Love - and how it changed me for the better
Self-love and self-compassion are essential for overall well-being.
Self-love is the regard for one's own well-being and happiness, involving self-acceptance, self-care, self-respect, positive self-talk, and self-improvement.
Self-compassion is about treating yourself with the same kindness, understanding, and support you would offer to a friend.
It involves self-kindness, recognising our common humanity, and mindfulness.
Why Self-Love is Important
Practicing self-love and self-compassion can reduce anxiety, depression, and stress, build resilience, improve relationships, and enhance overall happiness and fulfillment. Establishing a strong foundation of self-worth separate from professional achievements and external validation is crucial for a balanced and meaningful life.
My Journey: In January this year, I embarked on a journey to prioritise self-love and compassion. My focus had been so much on my external world—how others perceived me, my business success—that I had lost touch with myself. I felt dead inside, with nothing lighting me up and no idea who I was, let alone what direction I wanted to go in. This journey, guided by my coach Patricia, has brought profound changes to my life.
The Beginning: One of our first activities was creating a "self-love cave," a mental and emotional space where I could be entirely myself—safe, strong, and courageous. This concept became a cornerstone of my journey, a place to return to for comfort and strength.
Since creativity was part of my self love cave, I decided to take the brief sketch I had made, and transformed it into an artwork, with the power of MidJourney (and AI visualisation tool) and my own creative swirls and lettering (see image above).
It has proven to be a very powerful visual reminder to me, especially when I wobbled at various times!
Beyond creating the image of my self love cave, I knew that there was lots of inner work to do, but I felt safe under Patrica’s guidance since her journey had been very simialr to mine in so many ways.
We tackled my pleaser saboteur tendency to put everyone else first, and my avoider sabotur that was sooo much more present than I realised, and I became a pro at spotting when my victim was bringing too much fo the “woe is me” energy and getting in my own way
And alongside this, I did some very practical things for myself…
My personal steps to Self-Love
Prioritising Health and Fitness: Having always neglected myself in this way, I committed to four exercise sessions a week, making them non-negotiable in my schedule. I paired these sessions with social activities, working out with friends to enhance both my physical and social well-being.
Improving Finances: Since becoming a coach and changing careers, I’ve lost a steady income - and that had damaged my self worth - but I often avoided the issue. Now I chose to take a good hard look at my finances, creating a clear plan to manage my money better. This clarity reduced financial stress and allowed me to enjoy life more fully.
Reducing Social Media Time: Having spent a year posting on LinkedIn nearly every day, I realised how draining it was for me to be in the cycle of comparison and creator mode. So I cut down on social media, focusing instead on impactful, in-person interactions. This shift reduced my feelings of inadequacy and allowed me to connect more genuinely with others.
Key Insights:
Understanding What Energises and Drains Me: I learned to identify activities that drained my energy and replaced them with those that uplifted me.
Taking Risks and Trying New Things: With increased self-awareness, I felt more secure in taking small risks and trying new things without fear of failure affecting my self-worth.
How it changed me for the better
These six months of self-love have transformed my life. I've gained a deeper understanding of myself and built habits that support my well-being. This journey has not only improved my personal life but also set the stage for positive changes in my business.
Not only that, I accept self love will be a continual journey for me, but, I’m several steps further forward and now feel I can lead others on a similar path with great integrity
So, if you're feeling lost or overwhelmed, I highly recommend embarking on a self-love journey.
It has been profoundly transformative for me, and I believe it can be for you too.
I hope this blog post resonates with you and inspires you to start loving yourself a little more too - in your own way. If you would like to enhance your self love I’m here to help - consider checking out the programme here