The Second Step: Love Thyself

“To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance” – Oscar Wilde

The first challenge in self loving is to stay in your own head.  If you think about being self loving and immediately focus on what everyone else will say, think and do, you will defeat yourself before you begin.  For the sake of this exercise, their opinions don’t matter.  Focus only on your thoughts and feelings; we can deal with everyone else later.

Self-loving: The instinct or desire to promote one’s own well-being; regard for or love of one’s self.

Once your focus is on the value and benefits of loving yourself, you can give yourself permission to consider the possibilities. Look at you the list you created in our last post.  Figure out where your comfort zone ends in relation to taking care of yourself and make a decision to take a baby step outside of your comfort this week.

1. What will you do differently? Which activity will you choose and what value does it have for you?
2. Is it a realistic step?
3. What might hold you back from following through on it?
4. How might you feel when you give yourself that gift of time?

Consider if you are one of ‘those’ voices.  With all that is going on during this season of divorce, are your thoughts ones of self-love or further criticism heaped on top of others criticism of you?

Next we will discuss those that you must contend with who will tell you that you are being selfish.

Tell us what you are thinking and feeling; or what you are struggling with.  If you have pushed through something, share your successes, there are plenty of people who can benefit from them!