Acts of Self Love - It's Simple

Time and time again with my clients we discuss the practice of self love. Whenever I bring up the subject I am usually greeted by a bewildered glazed look. We seem to chase the idea of self love like the Holy Grail! Mostly because nobody tells you what you should do, or what you should be feeling, and lets face it if you don't know what your looking for, how you gonna find it?!

If you love someone like a partner or a child, you do things for them right? You do everything you can to show them you love them. Through these little acts, we develop and nurture a stronger relationship, trust, love and bond. These people are important to us, and its natural for us to show them and display acts of unconditional love. Now with that in mind, when was the last time you genuinely did something lovely for yourself?

Just like those close to us developing a strong bond of trust and love with ourselves is important. You and yourself make life changes decisions all the time, every day! You need to know that you can trust yourself, you need to know that you are making wise life choices from a place of love and purpose, and only when you are truly connected with yourself can you do so, and trust the instincts you have.

I know your IG feed like mine, is probably full of motivational yogi quotes about following your bliss and changing vibrations of your "higher self" to manifest some great wish or dream. Most of that is true, but it so fucking abstract and removed from our day to day lives that we double tap it and continue to scroll.

Part of following your bliss or doing things that are good for your soul is about recharging, thanking and taking some quality time for yourself in order to get your shit straight. That is the ultimate act of self love. The society and culture we live in sells us the solutions we thing we need and they are bloody pricey! A luxury off the grid vacation in the sunshine, with fresh fruit, meditation mornings of Tibetan chimes by lapping waves and golden beaches! $1200 per night. or a spa day with your closest girl friends at a fancy 5 star resort $900 per day! Its so easy to get caught up in all that! In reality when we love someone and know it often its just the thought that counts!

You do not have to spend a fortune, self love can be about taking time to yourself with your phone off for 1hour a day. Reading that book that has been sat on your bedside table for 2 years. Drawing a bath with lots of bubbles in it and a glass of wine. Lighting a scented candle in the living room and sitting in candle light listening to a ted talk or your favorite artist for 30 mins. Maybe its going for a run with your ear buds in screaming gangster rap at the top of your lungs in a field until the veins stick out the side of your neck! maybe its walking the dog and playing ball thinking of absolutely nothing but the joy that little furry face is wrapped up in! MAYBE its baking bread, for me its always baking bread. *Secret* If there is an excessive amount of bread action on my IG and FB feeds its because I'm super stressed and super busy, and it chills me out!

I promise you if you do this for yourself you will see the benefits in a very short space of time. If I had a penny for every time taking a step away to bake bread gave me a fabulous idea or solution to a problem randomly out of nowhere, I'd be a very rich lady! Until my self love revelation, I was the women that sat up until 3am trying to 'finish' inevitably waking up exhausted the next day to a project that needed a complete do-over, because tired sally doesn't function or make any sense. I have learned that when I take time for me, my head is screwed on a little tighter! That I am more focused, and that I can recognize in my gut if I am making a good or a bad decision, instead of blindly functioning in a tired fog and hoping for the best.

If you don't look after you, how are you going to help everyone else? Just saying !