How are you?  What’s new?

How would you answer these questions?  I used to answer them with responses like “fine, well, ok, not much, same old… etc.” but I’m aiming higher these days.  I refuse to let “good” get the best of me.  I’m in it for great.  Revolutionary.  I want to wake up every single day and have to pinch myself because surely I must be dreaming.  I want to stay up late and wake up early because I get to be me.

Life is in a constant state of change.  We’re always moving from A to B to C to wherever.  There are about a zillion ways to get from A to B but I want to get there in a flying car doing 150 at least.  I’m fully in it for the ride, wherever I go and whatever I do, I do it with joy.  I try to find acceptance in everything.  While cleaning up the kitchen for the 50 millionth time isn’t my favourite thing to do, I accept that it must be done, and I look for the joy.  It gives me an opportunity to check in with myself in a sort of moving meditation kind of way where I get to hang out with one of my favourite people: Me.

I wasn’t always this way.  There was a time when I was completely unsuccessful at loving myself.  I didn’t think I could do anything right and I disliked myself for not being smarter, thinner, and more outgoing.  I was withholding love from myself, and I was suffering for it.

I don’t know what happened in my childhood to make me think I didn’t deserve love.  Maybe I’ve been holding onto this indoctrination from a past life.  I’m actually certain of it.  Wherever I picked it up from, I am incredibly glad that I have come to know that I deserve an epic love story.  My Aha moment came during a soul shattering breakup in which I finally learned my lesson: Love yourself.  I kept ignoring the signs that told me to put myself first, but my angels were persistent with this lessen.  I couldn’t ignore them anymore.  My oxygen mask was finally on and my sole focus became making myself happy.

Your Ideal Best Friend: What Qualities do They Have?

What qualities do you look for in a best friend?  Write them down.  Here is my list: Supportive, communicative, authentic, honest, keeps in touch, inspiring, passionate, appreciative, funny, easy to talk to, good listener, not too serious, kind, loving, generous, trustworthy, adventurous, driven, joyful, understanding.  Now, look at your list and ask yourself if you’re being a good friend to your friends.  Now ask if you’re being a good friend to YOURSELF.  What areas do you need to put a little more work into?  What areas are you doing a good job in?  Journal about your successes and what you can do to improve in certain areas.  I certainly had a lot to write about after I did this exercise.

Words of Affirmation to Love Yourself

Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself: “You are worthy of great love.  You are loving.  You are loved.  Thank you, body, for being an amazing place to live.  I give you nourishing food and plenty of water so that you may keep me healthy and energetic.  I love you.”  Feel free to change this and add some personal touches.  Make it perfectly and authentically yours, and make it full of love.

Support yourself every single day.  Every time you see yourself in the mirror, give yourself love.  If you ever start getting negative toward yourself, remind yourself that you have always done the best you could do.  But now your best is better, so you can do better!