What is Self-Love?
For me, Self-Love means that I am making my needs a priority in my life.
Society teaches women to put the needs of others in front of ourselves. For years I did that. Work came first. When I married, my husband came first. Then when my daughter was born her needs also came before mine.
I was exhausted since I gave everything I had to those around me. I was clueless that my soul was crying out for attention. Overtime, I lost the essence of who I was as a woman since I was so focused on others.
In hindsight, I realize the signal my soul was giving me at the time. For example, when I had the opportunity to go on a business trip I was thrilled. It gave me a reprieve from the demands of my home life. First item that was always tossed into my suitcase was bath salts.
In my hotel room, I thoroughly enjoyed a nice quiet evening with a hot bath and crawling into bed with a good book. I would be so refreshed the next day because I carved out time for me to indulge in myself. Focusing on my needs for an evening, my soul was fed. I would come back from my business trip refreshed, at least for a few days, until exhaustion started setting in.
Does this resonate with you?
Once divorced, a friend had suggested that I need to take Debbi time to keep my inner soul fed. What I didn’t realize is that by putting the needs of others in front mine, I fell out of love with myself after a while. I was responding to needs of others from a place of obligation versus from a place of love.
I started incorporating steps I needed to do to take care of myself. First was time, I set aside each evening to read a book that I wanted to read. Self-care meant getting a sitter for my daughter to go have dinner with a girlfriend or get a massage. It meant that I started an exercise program to boost my energy level and slim me down.
What happened over time is that as I started making myself a priority in my life. I found myself again and learned to appreciate and love the beautiful woman I am. Once I fell back in love with me, I found that the care I gave my daughter did not exhaust me anymore. I was filled with gratitude and simply was in awe with the blessing I was given to raise an incredible young woman.
What I learned is that if you respond to the true call of self-love, you begin to live a life that gratifies you.
Debbi Dickinson is a professional woman who understands the challenges of balancing work, home, love and carving time out for you. Her website is filled with blogs, articles and newsletters written specifically for women. To gain access to a free gift designed exclusively for professional women, visit her website at: http://www.steppingintojoy.com
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