Sales for roses, teddy bears and heart shaped chocolate have plummeted dramatically as the sale of masks tremendously skyrocket. Masks are being sold in abundance to millions of consumers to protect themselves from the infectious disease. This disease can be very contagious. Those who are already infected have been quarantined in the place where they belong, far away from us healthy people who do not want to be infected by it. Some people avoid it like a plague while others throw it around meaninglessly not caring who they spread it to. This disease is a four letter word known as L.O.V.E.
It’s almost that time when all of those affected with this highly contagious disease come out of quarantine and invade our social media with annoying posts that we didn’t ask to see. Well anyway, while those infected want to spread it, those who don’t have it want to avoid it. Being in love with someone is a beautiful thing but do you know what’s even more beautiful? Being in love with yourself… No, not in a creepy way where you have mirrors all over your house and you can’t seem to stop staring at your beautiful/handsome face with all those amazing features. Conceit is not what I’m talking about. If you fall in the category of people with mirrors all around you, you should get that checked out…What I mean when I say being in love with yourself is simply self love, nothing extreme like conceit but something necessary for one to thrive in this world.
So what is self love? We’ve already established that it’s not being so in love with yourself that you have mirrors everywhere so what exactly is it? Self love is an attribute where one aims to ensure that they are well taken care of. In other words, when you ensure that you look good, feel good and are good!
Many people lack self love maybe because they are insecure or lack self-esteem. As a result of this, they try to fill the void that they cannot fill on their own by finding it in someone else’s eyes but who is going to love you better than you love yourself? If people take note of the fact that you don’t love yourself they may walk over you and try to take advantage of you. You are not a mat so get up off that floor and love yourself!
So how do we fall in love with ourselves?:
1 Appreciate who you are: We all have to realize that we are made in the image of God and we are all unique individuals. So stop comparing yourself to others. Embrace what makes you special and use it to your advantage. You may have a scar that people may have teased you about or you may not look like the other person but you must realize that you are who you are for a reason and you must find that reason and embrace it. Remember that God doesn’t make mistakes so appreciate who He made you to be. If you have to reaffirm yourself every morning that you are special and unique and you are enough then do it! If you have to put up motivational quotes to encourage yourself then do it! Do what ever you need to do to help you accept who you are and appreciate yourself.
2 Do what makes you happy: Sometimes we do not do the things that we truly want to do because we are scared. Rather than being scared, take a leap of faith and just do it. Write the book that you wanted to write! Start that business that you always wanted to! Go on that cruise that you planned but never went through with! Whatever you think is going to make you happy, do it (once it’s not too outrageous or will be something that you might regret).
3 Treat yourself well: People are only going to treat you as good as you treat yourself. It is important that you look after yourself and ensure that you do not just look good on the outside but feel good on the inside and and are good health wise. Get a relaxing massage. Go to the gym. Start eating healthy. Get some more sleep (yes I’m talking to myself and all of the other guilty people who can’t go to sleep before 12:00 am).
4 Inhala Exhala( Inhale Positivity and Exhale Negativity): Do activities that clear your mind to bring you positive energy such as writing down your thoughts, reading a book, doing yoga, doing palates or my favorite praying. As you inhale positivity there will be no room for negativity. You know what that means, it’s time to drop those people in your life that stifle your growth and hinder you from being the best version of yourself. There may have also been things in the past that may have scarred you or ruined your outlook on life but it’s okay to let it go and embrace what the future holds in store for you.
5 Find your purpose: Some people die without fulfilling their purpose so they take all of their potential to the grave. It is so important to figure out what you were placed on this earth to do and do it! This does not have to be related to a job, it can simply be to touch lives, to bring smiles to others’ faces or to make someone else discover their own self-love. Once you find your purpose in life, work at it. Things may not always be easy but do not give up hope.
6 Know your worth: Last and probably most important is to know your worth. It’s funny how this point actually slipped my mind earlier.In order to fully love yourself and for people to fully love you, you must know your worth. You must understand that you are more precious than rubies, diamonds or pearls. You are so special and your love is something worth fighting for. Know your value and add 7.5% VAT!!! People should not be able to woo you with empty promises, sweet nothings and meaningless gifts. You should be able to fully understand your value and let people know that your love is priceless. It’s something money can’t buy.
Self-love is the best love so you cannot love someone else if you do not first love yourslef. So it’s okay to be alone and not want to be associated with the L word but in your time of solitude find peace, find love but most importantly find yourslef!
P.S. Yea I know you thought this post was going to be a bitter rant about being alone for Valentine’s Day but it’s not. I hope you were pleasantly surprised. 🙂
Schar's Mind 