I'm SELFISH are you?

7th September 2011

"To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness." - Robert Morely

A lot of members returned yesterday saying, they need to get their motivation back, they’ve lost their mojo over the holidays and are now ready to get back to it.  Its 15 weeks to Christmas, let’s get started shall we, think about what you’d like to achieve by then.

I noticed yesterday a lot of members have been putting their energy in so many places they’ve overlooked themselves, and when I told them to start taking care of themselves they genuinely looked at me like I’d gone a little loopy.  I’ve noticed people seem to be of the belief that putting yourself first is selfish, well it isn’t its self-care.  Redefine the word 'Selfish', what if Selfish became self-ish? Try taking this word, which has a negative connotation, and giving it a positive spin. It is time to be a little more self-ish!

I like this idea that I found online - there is a kabalistic tradition taught that says to take each word and imbue each letter with a new, fuller meaning. Try this on for size:

S      Nurture your SPIRIT.
E      ENJOY moments alone.
L      LOVE yourself.
F      Keep FIT and FEEL good.
I      Make your unique needs IMPORTANT.
S     SHOWER yourself with gifts.
H     Be HAPPY and open-HEARTED.

Because YOU’RE WORTH IT!

I was having a conversation yesterday and the subject of self-love came up I’m always surprised when someone finds it difficult to say nice things about themselves even though I see it so often.  Love is one of the most powerful energies on the planet. We are born with love in our hearts, and it lives within us all. But some of us put so much focus on finding love and approval "out there" that we never get a chance to truly develop it within ourselves. We look for it in the external world - from parents, partners, friends, bosses, new people we meet, people we admire. If any one of them disappoints, devastation follows.  How many times have you been hurt because of someone else's opinion of you? When we experience self-esteem only through the eyes of others, one unkind word or a bad mood in another can shatter our sense of self.  If you struggle to feel the love from within, it’s time to do something about it.  So many of you are extremely generous with those around you, you give so much of yourselves to friends, family and colleagues. You twist yourselves into pretzels to accommodate the needs of others. But when it comes to you, you can be a bit (or often a lot) stingy.

Start by being kind to yourself, it’s a healthy habit to get into, if you have a slip with your weight loss plan and eat something you hadn’t planned on eating, smile and rejoice in the fact you are human and you have flaws or rather excellent taste buds that take over sometimes.  Don’t beat yourself up over it; if someone else beat up on you the way you beat up on yourself, you'd fight back!  So give yourself a break.  And when you are on track and sticking to your plan, realise that putting healthy things into your body is a great way to take care of yourself and congratulate yourself and celebrate your success.  

So, I’ve decided yet again I’m going eat well again today because I love me, who do you love?