Loving yourself

Loving yourself. Why would we love ourselves? Sounds a little conceited, doesn't it? 

So why do we need to love ourselves? 

Let me tell you a little about my life and how learning to love myself has changed me entirely. 

It started as a small thought that somehow crept into my head that I wasn't good enough. I wasn't the best student and I wasn't the best athlete and I didn't know what I wanted to become after high school but I tried and that's all that should have mattered, right?!  

Well, that's not how society works. And society was telling me that I should know and should be the best. 

But that is what is so wrong with our society. And we need to change that. But that's for another blog, on another day. 

So I graduated high school with a C.N.A (Certified Nursing Assistant), mostly because a lot of my friends where doing the program and I thought being a nurse was something I could learn to love. 

It didn't happen for me. I got a small glimpse of what my life might be like if I continued on this path and it scared me. I didn't want to do something that my heart was telling me NO. 

So I stopped nursing and became a nanny. With a nursing background, families loved me so it was an easy step to take. And it was something that I actually enjoyed, like REALLY ENJOYED. 

And now almost 10 years later I still really enjoy my job, it's hard for me to even call it a job because I enjoy it so much! 

I have gained so much experience from all of the different families I have worked for and it also gave me the time I needed to find what I truly want to do in this life, to live yoga to the fullest. 

I wouldn't have changed the path I took for anything because it has made me such a loving and caring person.

But even though I learned to love and care for others, I forgot to learn how to love myself. 

Before I started my journey on living yoga to the fullest, I was very judgmental of myself and had a very negative "self-talk" going on in my head. Through the last couple years I have been able to turn that around.

I still struggle everyday to quiet that part of my thinking. To shut down those negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. But it's a practice and I show up everyday for it. 

I give a lot of thanks to my boyfriend, who has taught me to be more positive, to let things go that aren't building me up and to open up about the things that do bother me so that we can move on from them. 

Especially with helping me conquer road rage! Such a good thing to work on if that's you because having road rage brings us stress which is so unhealthy for our well-being. (Look it up, stress kills people.)

I also give a big thanks to the yoga world for teaching me how to be compassionate towards myself and being mindful towards my actions and words. 

Loving yourself is so important for your well-being. It may be one of the most challenging things that we do in this life. 

But once you give it a try like really try to love your skin and be your true self, you will see and understand why it is so important.

I consider myself very lucky for the amount of loving people I have been able to share my fondest memories with. These people have given me the strength to know my weaknesses and to be able to face them head on and realize that we make our own happiness. 

You are the leader in this body and you have control over your thoughts. 

By changing your thought patterns you are able to re-wire your brain to start thinking more positively. 

It's quite incredible and I suggest if anyone is feeling "stuck" with negative feelings or really whenever those bad thoughts come to surface to bash them with happiness. Literally, stomp those feelings out with good ones and see where it takes you. 

But please, give it time. Be patient and loving towards yourself because it does take time to heal and change and it is possible.