Each February it’s the same scene – heart shaped cakes, red velvet cupcakes with heart frosting, and enough boxes of chocolates to feed a small country!
And each year, I write about heart health and how bad all the candy, cakes and other traditional Valentine treats are for your HEART. Well, this year instead of giving you food alternatives or exercises to work off those cupcakes, I’d like to talk about something that’s very important for our health and well being – self love.
I know this is not a topic in most February magazines, since Valentine’s Day is the day set aside each year to demonstrate love for another, but I feel it’s time has come. It’s not possible to know true love for another unless you love yourself enough to share that love. And loving yourself includes taking good care of the body you’re in!
Most of us, when we look in a mirror think something like “Oh, I wish I could lose that last ten pounds” or “Wow! Am I having a bad hair day!” or something similar. We rarely look into the mirror and tell ourselves, “You’re amazing, talented, beautiful and “I love you!” Unless, that is, we have re-trained ourselves to do so.
As small children we thought we were the cat’s meow, as they say. Then, as we passed through pre-school, a friend may have called us fat, or a bully told us that we were stupid, and the list goes on – life happens. Somewhere along the line, our self perception became shaped by fashion models, TV stars, and unkind words. Time to get back our childhood enthusiasm! Look yourself in the eyes in that mirror and tell yourself how fabulous you are!
There is a reason that the self help gurus like Louise Hay, Jack Canfield and others use mirror work in their programs – it works! Given some time, these positive affirmations give you a sense of well being, just as the negative ones made us feel insecure when we were growing up. And I know it’s not easy, it wasn’t for me either the first time I tried it, but as time went on, I found myself seeing my pretty blue eyes when I looked in the mirror, instead of that cowlick on top of my head, or noticing my sexy legs instead of the love handles. You get the idea. You do feel a little silly when you first start out, but trust me, it becomes easier and easier.
My recommendation is to end your day today with a REALLY good look at yourself in a full length mirror. I mean stand right in front of that mirror naked and look at all of you. Find your most stunning feature and thank your parents or God or both for gracing you with such beauty. Then look yourself in the eyes and say “I love you!”
Once you can look at yourself and really see your outer beauty, you allow your inner beauty to really shine! All of us have a deep well of joy and beauty within us, yet sometimes, when times are as tough as they are for many right now, we can’t seem to see those treasures within. But, we can hunt for these treasures and find them if we just make this small effort. Mirror, mirror on the wall – who’s the smartest, kindest, fairest of them all? You!
Practicing anything for 30 days in a row rewires our brain for this new daily habit. When you practice mirror work every evening for about 30 days, you’ll begin to feel more confident and less stressed out. You’ll release fewer stress hormones, begin to drop any negativity, and it becomes easier to see the good in others. You’ll approach all of life’s situations with more confidence, making mountains into mole hills – instead of the reverse! When you feel good about yourself, your smile can light up a room – or at least your co-worker’s face!
Confidence can be contagious. Everyone around you will see and feel the difference. Just think about your own life for a moment. How many times have you been in a great mood, listening to the oldies driving to work, singing along, and then you get to your office and a co-worker comes in full of negativity, complaining about too much work, not enough pay, terrible commute, etc? Doesn’t take long for your good mood to fade, does it? Well, the same thing can work in reverse. When you bring your own joy and confidence to your workplace, or book club, or the supermarket, and share it with your family, friends and everyone you meet, you’ll be making the people all around you feel more joy and confidence themselves.
Now that’s what Valentine’s Day means to me! Love yourself!
Best of Health,
Kathi