freeplaylife photography

We give and we love and we ask for love in return.

We wait and we hurt when the people around us don’t show up…or only show us their messy side.

And we forget.

We forget that we can give to ourselves. That we can shower ourselves with love. That we can fill ourselves up.

We forget that we need to. That others need to see us valuing ourselves. That others learn how to value us by how WE value us. That no one can love us when we feel unlovable.

My mama posted something on Facebook last week that brought tears to my eyes…

“When I was single for YEARS, I used to buy myself flowers on Valentines Day. Just because I hadn’t found my knight in shining armor yet, didn’t mean I was any less of a princess….

There’s a whole lot more to life than just being in a relationship with another person. Be in a relationship with your own LIFE. There are lots of ways to love. Spread some around….”

THIS is it! Be in a relationship with LIFE!

Be in a relationship with your passion, your voice, your style, your purpose, your curiosity, your kindness, your self-discovery, your growth, your experiences.

And dammit, let’s all starting being in a loving, committed, generous relationship with OURSELVES!

Let’s shower ourselves with the things we need, the things that light us up, so that we can SHINE and THRIVE!

Let’s spread THAT around!

Clients ask me how to love themselves better all the time. And so with my mama’s inspiration I’m sharing just some of the ways to love yourself better…

This is just SOME ways. Use it to inspire you to find YOUR way.

47 Ways To Love Yourself Better

1. Examine the feeling of not being good enough and the reasons you struggle to love yourself and replace them with a sense of wonder and ease.
2. Create a long list of all the things you do well and read it to yourself often.
3. Say only nice things about your body and the amazing things it enables you to experience in your life.
4. Lift your head up as you walk – and SMILE as you go!
5. Listen to music with a positive message of life and love (try Blessed by Brett Dennen)
6. Hire a photographer to take amazing photos of yourself to see your beauty as others see it.
7. Make a list of all the things you’re grateful for about Who You Are.
8. Every night before bed tell yourself and your body how much you appreciate it.
9. Stand naked in front of the mirror and make peace with the physical body that houses Who You Really Are.
10. List 7 reasons why your hardest challenges or worst mistakes or most unloved qualities have been a beautiful thing for you.
11. Then ask yourself for forgiveness for not seeing it all earlier.
12. Tell others what you love about you.
13. STOP doing exercise that doesn’t make you smile or laugh! Go roller skating or dancing or trampolining instead!
14. Chew your food slowly, savor each flavor and focus on the nourishment you’re offering yourself.
15. Take everything out of your closet and only put back in the things that make you FEEL amazing when you wear them!
16. Allow yourself time to “do nothing”.
17. Give yourself time to understand that all these ways to love yourself need to be done with passion.
18. Stop making excuses for what you love and just LOVE IT OUT LOUD dammit!
19. If you’re not feeling “good” when someone asks how you are, give yourself permission to be authentic.
20. Spend lots of time in meditation or prayer or stillness.
21. Light candles, put on sexy music and make love to your own body.
22. Eat when you’re hungry. Rest when you’re tired. Tell the world your needs matter by making them a priority over the dishes or the laundry.
23. Surround yourself with tribes of amazing women who will remind you of Who You Are when you forget about the ways to love yourself.
24. Throw your head back and laugh out loud!
25. Two words: Body. Paint. (Bonus points if you share the photos.)
26. You know that one thing that looks so cool but you’ve been rattling off excuses why you can’t try it? Go do it.
27. Join an weekly self-portrait challenge and see yourself in a new light.
28. Understand how it is you learned to not love yourself so you don’t pass it on to your children.
29. Give yourself permission to sob when your heart is hurting.
30. Write down 5 ways to love yourself each morning before you even start your day.
31. Celebrate your scars and stretch marks
32. Commit to only using positive words to describe yourself…instead of “I don’t know how” say “I’ve yet to learn that”. “I screwed that up” becomes “I learned some really good things here.” I’m serious, try it.
33. Replace “have to” with “get to” and begin to see that life is always an opportunity for you to show off your prowess.
34. Find the one hairstyle that allows your inner self to glow and rock it – no matter how wild it is!
35. Create a list of people you deeply admire and why. Then remember that you can only admire in others what your heart calls it’s own Truth. Stand in that Truth and be what you admire.
36. Stop calling yourself “lazy” or “stupid” and replace it with a compassionate description of Who You Are
37. Buy or gather your favorite flowers, and write yourself a love note to go with it.
38. Make yourself a yummy meal or take yourself out to dinner to eat in the peaceful company of YOU.
39. Choose to be in a relationship with your life and experiences.
40. Give love to others, not because of who they are, but because of Who You Are.
41. Schedule your own spa day and pamper yourself. Include the kids! Or the partner! Or your best girlfriends!
42. Let your toes loose and go outside (or even to the store) barefoot and free.
43. Replace one food that makes you feel bad with one yummy food that makes you feel great.
44. Give yourself permission to say no to the things that make you unhappy and yes to the things you’d rather do instead.
45. Share a photo of your imperfect booty with the world.
46. Make one small space in your home a reflection of Who You Are – ditch what you don’t love or use often, paint the walls, bring in a comfy place to sit, light your candles, pile up your journal, books and art supplies, listen to inspiring music and dwell there often.
47. Write yourself a love letter. And frame that bad boy. Look at it anytime you need to remember how beautiful you are.

Because, sweetheart, you’re worth all that and more.

Join Us For a Facebook Chat

Jenn Gibson and I are hosting a Love Your Damn Self Already! Facebook chat and we’d love for you to pop over, share your Wisdom and your favorite ways to love yourself!

When: TONIGHT, Feb 6, 8pm-9pm(ish) Eastern/5pm Pacific
Where: The Organic Sister page