Don't Forget to Love Yourself

Firstly a warm welcome to Gifted & Highly Favoured, I hope you will become a regular visitor to our blog we have such a lot to share with you all as we journey through life. Today is all about L-O-V-E! I make no apologies for the cheesy theme, whether you have a valentine today or not love is to be celebrated. Not just today but everyday. 


Last year taught me so much about love, it taught me what love is and what it most definitely is not. We have so many romantic illusions about love, but its not all hearts and kisses is it? Its deep and at times its hard more than anything its not just an emotion. Major lesson I have learnt is that love is not passive its active. Real love is a verb not an adjective, true love (at least to me) is about service. To love is to serve, but how can you serve another and love another when you can not or do not love yourself? 


That brings me to my 5 ways to love yourself 2011 and beyond.


1. Celebrate your success 
So often we are so busy trying to progress we forget to take a step back and acknowledge how far we have come, how many challenges we have overcome and the breakthroughs we have had. Don't be so busy trying to get ahead that you don't see how far you have traveled. I so often make that mistake, when you are hungry for success there will always be more to do but I will make time to celebrate my success no matter how great or small. 


2. Make time for yourself
Speaking of time, when was the last time you made time for yourself. I don't know about you but at times i'm so busy on the 'grind' I don't take that time to be still. To really get in tune with me, to think, to breath! That time spent doing 'nothing' by yourself will probably be the best time you spend. The rat race can make you loose perspective, that quiet time spent in peaceful reflection can lead to breakthroughs you miss whilst being 'busy'. 


3. Silence the negative inner voice 
We often sabotage ourselves with negative thinking, words like 'can't', 'impossible' and 'not good enough'. I know for sure I am my worse critic! But isn't life harder enough without creating your own barriers? Without putting yourself down? Words have power whether they are an internal or external, I'm choosing my words wisely this year :)


4. Love yourself flaws and all
When I heard about the 20 year old girl who died getting a silicone injection in her bottom I felt so sad. I thought how could vanity and peer pressure lead to death, how could someone hate themselves that much. But lets be real at some point in our lives we have all struggled with self image, there are so many images in the media so many opinions of what does or does not fall into the category of beautiful. All I know is self hate is ugly so no matter how hard it gets I'm striving to love myself flaws and all. 


5. Follow and trust your truth 
Finally I'm committed  to following my inner direction, I'm going to love myself enough to trust myself. Its so easy to get swayed by other peoples opinions, who they say you are and who they want you to be. However I know my destiny is within me, my gifts are within me and I'm capable of achieving my hearts desire. If there is no path and no map to where i'm going then i'm creating my own. I'm following and trusting my truth. No one can 'do me' better than I can 'do me' so I'm focused on being the very best version of myself!


So on that note, Happy Valentines Day please don't forget to love yourself. 


Stay gifted and highly favoured. 


Lele x