First of all I want to wish you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day. I am grateful for this day and the reminder to express love and gratitude for all of the amazing people who have blessed my life. I am grateful for the opportunity to share this day with colleagues, clients, and friends and for the opportunity to share this evening with Mark and Rocky. I am grateful for the thoughtful gift from my parents and the chance to chat with my sister. I am grateful for the group text started by my aunt this morning and all of the reminders about who and what is really important in life. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Expressing gratitude for the love in our life is a fabulous way to cultivate healthy, strong, and loving relationships with ourselves and others. So often we forget to express gratitude and give thanks, we are often quick to complain and judge. Take some time today to thank the people in your life and point out to them what you value and appreciate. Also, give yourself the gift of gratitude and express thanks for amazing unique you. You have to learn to love yourself first in order to be able to fully give love.
Have you ever experienced a time when you didn’t feel comfortable in your own skin? How about a day when everything seemed to go wrong? Ever sit there bashing yourself for all of your mistakes or the things on your list you didn’t get to? If so, this 4 step activity is just for you. Use these quick tips to cultivate self love not only on those yucky days, but also on all the so-so and great days too!
- Make a list of all the miracles that your body performs every day (sight, smell, touch, taste, beating heart, breathing lungs, regenerating cells…you get the idea. Think of everything that works without you ever even having to think about it!) and say thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
- Focus on something that you really value and love about yourself and do something that highlights that strength. Are you a great cook, artist, writer, or musician? Have an excellent fashion sense or are you a stellar problem solver? Whatever lights you up – spend time doing that each day.
- Make a conscious decision to take care of yourself and make the choices that are best for you. Remind yourself of this decision and allow it to guide you with your diet and lifestyle choices. When feeling conflicted ask yourself, “what is the best decision for me in this moment?” and go with it.
- Step outside of yourself and focus on others and the bigger picture. Hold the door open, help someone carry groceries, buy the person behind you in line a coffee, leave a love note for a loved one, adopt a pet, volunteer, and say thank you and I appreciate you…
By intentionally working to cultivate your attitude of gratitude you will develop a new found appreciation for yourself, relationships, career, home, and all of the many things that you DO have and that DO work in your life. You will begin to notice a natural perspective shift. This shift allows for you to live fully and love fully. This shift will also allow allow for you to easily begin to simply stress less!