Self-Love post

“When things change inside you, things change around you.”

1.
Go for a walk.

Never underestimate the power of movement. One of my favorite ways to start my mornings is by going for a walk. Yes. A walk. All by myself. Obviously most people have work or school and would normally not have the time in the morning to go for a walk, but I say, once a week treat yourself to a morning walk! Put on your sneakers, find your favorite playlist, and start walking. Not only is it therapeutic, but it allows you to spend time with yourself and spend time with your thoughts. Pay attention to the things you think about when it’s just yourself. Are they happy thoughts? Are they anxious thoughts? Take 10 to 20 minutes and pay attention to the thoughts that consume you and then release them. You are not your thoughts. Let them in and then let them go.

2.
Paint.

Now I’m not saying you even have to be a good painter. In fact you can have absolutely no artistic skill level and still find painting, drawing, or coloring to be fun and therapeutic. I know I am no artist, however that does not stop me from trying. Most of the time we are the consumer. We watch television, we watch Youtubers vlog their daily life, we sit on facebook reading why Karen thinks democrats our ruining the economy, yet we don’t create anything to be consumed. I’m not saying whatever you paint, or draw, or color is going to be seen by others, but for once be the producer rather than the consumer. You do not need anyone’s permission to live a creative life. You do not need anyone’s validation to live a creative life. Find something you enjoy (and trust me you don’t even need to be great at it) and create it. For me that’s painting.

3.
Listen to music.

Name one person who doesn’t like listening to music. I think everybody in the universe of people can agree music makes us happier. Make a playlist of all your favorite songs and name it “spending time with myself.” Now play it and just sit there and listen to it. Feel the music in your body. Get up and dance if you feel inclined to. Once again, don’t underestimate the power of movement. If the music makes you want to get up and dance, get up and dance. You don’t have to be a good dancer to dance. I think I can promise you that dancing to your favorite music will indeed give you one of the biggest mood lifts. So do it.

4.
Go for a drive.

Personally my favorite time to go for drives is right at sunset. I plug in my phone, put on my favorite playlist, and sing! Similarly to listening to music and taking a walk, you can sit there in your thoughts. We all have a voice in our head at all times. This voice likes to comment, judge, complain, like and dislike certain things, and much more. But start listening to that voice in your head, start to pay attention to repetitive thoughts and patterns. Live in the present moment and you’ll realize that nothing is ever actually wrong and most of it is just anxious thinking. The more you realize that you are only ever in the present moment, the more you choose to love yourself and enjoy spending time with just yourself.

5.
Go for a bike ride.

The power of movement people!!! Find a trail or some place with a lot of nature and take a fun little bike ride. Look around. Look at the trees and the sky. Look at the animals. Feel the warmth of the sun on your skin. Enjoy the outdoors! Once again, you’ll see that the present moment is indeed beautiful. And we are so lucky to have such a short time on this earth. Try and think of things you are grateful for. Whether it’s how beautiful your neighborhood is, how much you love the smell of fresh air, or even how much you love spending time with yourself (I hope you can genuinely say that!). A grateful heart is a happy heart 🙂

6.
Journal.

I can go on and on and on about why I think everybody should journal. And let me tell you everybody should journal. Journaling allows you to share whats truly on your heart without the fear of judgement. The truth is everything you need is buried deep in your heart. All your life’s purpose is within you. That’s why it’s so important to spend time with just yourself, and by journaling you can really dig deep to see what your deepest desires are. Ask yourself the question of what you really want in life. Then write about it. Include every single little detail about what you want in life. Writing things down gives you clarity. It allows you to reach your fullest potential. Write down what makes you upset, write down what makes you happy. Write down your trauma. Then let it go. Journal. Journal. Journal.

7.
Read.

It doesn’t matter what kind of books you want to read, but read! I personally read basically everything. I read fiction books, I read biography’s, I read business books, but my all time favorites are motivational books. Because the reality is we all need motivation in life and we all love to learn. Humans are naturally curious creatures, and we like to learn new things and create new things. Reading can help us do both. If it was not because of reading, I would not be here right now writing this blog. Reading helped me bring forth the courage to write. And reading can help you unlock the potential stuffed down deep inside of you. Reading can help you tap into that creative energy we all have. So whether you can to read about spirituality or you want to read about wizards and vampires, find something you enjoy and allow it to bring forth your creativity.

8.
Take a bath.

And last but most certainly not least, take a bath. A bubble bath more specifically. Treat yourself. And add some epsom salts if you really want to be bougie. Turn the lights down low, put on some relaxing music, and give your body some love. Shave your body if that’s your thing, put on a face mask, make yourself all clean. Once you are done with your bath, moisturize your face, lather up your body with some lotion, and realize how beautiful your body really is. We need our bodies more than it needs us. So take care of your body. Move it, clean it, nourish it, love it. The better our body feels the happier and more productive we are. Self-love is both internal and external, so don’t forget to give your body extra love.