People are always saying that filling your own cup first, before pouring into others, is one of the most vital self-care strategies. They say you need to love yourself before you can love others; that all of this makes you a better version of yourself.
But HOW do we actually do that?
It’s a fairly common issue, with women in particular, to put ourselves after others. To tend to others’ needs before our own. We have been conditioned this way based on archaic patterns that are still prevalent today. So, when someone tells us that we need to put ourselves first, most of us don’t even know where to begin…
The question in our mind becomes, “how do I put myself first without feeling guilty?”
Here’s a little secret: implementing self-care strategies is important, not only because it allows us the reprieve we need from all the things we take on in our lives, but because caring for ourselves rights the compass so that we can move forward from a place of alignment and authenticity.
What we need to do is create an intimate, honest relationship with Self. Then, we are already halfway to living an authentic life, unapologetically true to ourselves.
Manifesting emotional gratitude begins with this act. You know when you’re doing it, because everything suddenly just flows.
Our minds are powerful tools, if we know how to harness our thoughts in service of our higher purpose, rather than letting them rule our lives. Louise Hay said in her bestselling book You can heal your life, ‘Every thought we think and every word we speak is creating our future’. I am a firm believer in the power of thought and advocate for the power of changing our thoughts so that they serve rather than hinder us.
I have developed a body of work based on the idea that, when we change our thoughts, we change our lives.
What changes when you commit to unwavering self-care strategies?
You live your life full of abundance in almost every area of your life, except for one that seems to constantly elude you… until now.
It’s the challenge of giving love to yourself DEEPLY and UNCONDITIONALLY first. Giving to yourself what you so effortlessly give to others.
It’s easy for you, isn’t it, to bestow kindness, encouragement, supportive words, hugs on others? But what about when the situation is flipped and you are on the receiving end of that level of kindness and support? Are you able to RECEIVE?
Let me tell you right now that you are absolutely WORTHY of all the love and care that you give freely to others. You don’t need to wait until you’ve exhausted your stores and are scraping the bottom of the barrel for something for yourself. You don’t even need to wait for someone else to give those things to you. YOU need to give them to yourself FIRST.
This experience can take your life to the next level. Everything is easier, because you have what you need to be able to do things effortlessly and joyfully. As a bonus, when you love yourself first and your bucket is full, your family, friends and clients receive this magnetic energy, too!
How to start loving yourself first and create an intimate relationship with Self with my 4 proven hacks
Here are the action steps and examples of putting yourself first that BLEW my mind and my heart wide open, creating a beautiful high vibe energy that surges through me daily with unlimited LOVE for everything!
ONE: REMOVE any shitty habit, emotion, addiction, behaviour that does not serve you
- If in doubt about whether that thing is okay for you, ask yourself if you would want this for your child? If not, then it’s not for you either. No more justifying that it’s okay, because it’s not any longer!
- Find a coach – someone that gets where you are at and with whom you feel safe opening up emotionally.
- Self recordings (I can assist): Create your own power rant on gratitude, your vision, empowering words and heaps of self-care and love, in your own words and listen to them daily.
- Be the new you with family and friends. Otherwise, reassess if you see them in your new life.
TWO: Know that you are absolutely ready to be unapologetically you, to let love in and RECEIVE
- Look into your own eyes in the mirror. Hold your gaze and praise yourself everytime you walk past it. When you catch your reflection, remind yourself how beautiful, amazing and empowered you are – just know you have it all going on!
- Grateful thoughts that lead to grateful speech. Feel into your emotions and be grateful for the little things – a tea cup, your home, your health, your mindset. Allow all other desires to gravitate and flow to you with ease and grace – simply love all over everything and if you don’t love it, ditch it!
- Love your body. Cut out the nasties that you know your body does not enjoy, put in nutritious fuel to assist your body and watch your energy fly. As you connect with yourself, you will hear your body more clearly.
- Move your body. Whether it’s walking, yoga, dancing or something on YouTube, FEEL that beautiful body of yours – MOVE it and OWN it!
- Ignite your fire within. In the glow of this fire, all things made of energy are possible – healing, transformation, gifts and visions of inner knowing that are only yours can be accessed. You meditate to connect with yourself on a higher level – there is another to fuel your fire!
THREE: Set your conscious INTENTION of how you live daily
- Let your nearest and dearest know that you are turning a page in your life. I am sure they will be happy for you, as they already know how much you deserve this. It will change the tone for everyone to be more conscious of their behaviour and your boundaries.
- Surround yourself with like minded people. You know the ones, they speak kindly and you feel joyous around them.
- Social media – join a group or two that share your values. This can really help you stay on track.
- Connect with someone today. Share one of their positive attributes with them that you admire and let them know how much you appreciate them in your life.
FOUR: VISUALISE your future and live your life as your future Self TODAY
- What does your future look like? Visualise it; take the time to write about it; create a digital vision board and use it as your screensaver.
- When you feel into your future, can you actually feel it? Meditate on that for a moment… feels great, doesn’t it?!
- Journal: Get in your zone and use automatic writing to keep it real.
- This is your path – remember what you think and talk about will become your tomorrow. If you knew that whatever you wanted to happen would happen, what would you want that to be?
The most important thing in life is to feel LOVED, and it really only happens to the fullest when you can love yourself first. So commit to these self-care strategies, be gentle, kind and watch the LOVE FEST around you blossom!
If you are ready to step into unapologetic self-care and radical self-love, let’s chat. My program ‘Change your habits, Change your life’ could be just the thing for you. Through my genuine, intuitive, and future-focused approach – along with some life-changing tools to remove blocks forever – we can put together a self-care plan that will create true and lasting change in YOUR life.
