Learning to Care for Myself

Today I choose myself. My wants and dreams. My goals. My hobbies. Today I wake up with hope beyond my imagination for reasons none other than I’m learning what loving myself means. I used to think of it as this cliched theory people used to feel better about themselves. Something inside myself just truly believed that we were critical of ourselves because we knew we could do better and weren’t living up to that potential regardless of what others said or saw. Although doing what I set out to do without finding an excuse does make me feel incredibly accomplished, it doesn’t directly contribute to my newfound self love.

Look at me. “Self love”. Who would have thought I’d be preaching it? It’s true though! We look to others for validation: other people or even objects. Buying something to make us feel better or confiding in friends—sometimes even strangers. We are so uncomfortable with feeling uncomfortable that we panic when we feel it. I’ve been learning to be my own friend, because there are already enough people out there doing the opposite.

Although it takes a while, here’s what a day of loving myself looks like:

– I wake up naturally, no alarm (takes some time to get there, so don’t panic).

– Read a little—because I love reading and had spent way too much time not doing it due to “not enough time”

– Before I get up I tell myself “nothing will bring my positivity down today; today I will feel peaceful, strong, and enthusiastic.”

– Get up and look at myself in the mirror thinking “wow, look at me, I’m beautiful!”

– Then I begin my day. I try not to let annoying tasks cloud my mind. Instead I don’t think of them and just do them mindlessly, so that by the time I realize what I’m doing, it’s almost done.

It may not be ideal and it may not work for everyone, but it works for me. Sure I have my faults, don’t get me wrong, I’m not delusional, but no one is like me. We are all unique and there is something absolutely beautiful in that. I have learned to love my bulbous nose and gummy smile as well as my messy hair and pale complexion. I have learned that I am capable of more than I thought I was when I act more and think less. Being unashamed to be myself. It’s a process and I’m still learning, but it’s sure a step in the right direction.