"Love yourself!"
Hmm... I'm sure you've heard that one before! Few things feel more discouraging when you are a person struggling to find a way to feel better about yourself than a well-meaning friend imploring you to just LOVE yourself! If it was that easy to conjure up feelings of self-love, then we'd probably all have the confidence of Kim Kardashian by now.
While it may seem overwhelming at times to imagine how it would feel to TRULY love your Self, it might seem less impossible if you remember that LOVE is a VERB, not a NOUN. Often in the process of change, behavior changes must occur before the emotional changes can happen. What this means for our purposes here, is that if you can engage in the ACT of caring for your Self, you are opening the door for true emotional change to happen. The more you can practice self-care, the more you will see that showing your Self some love can actually make you feel better! Gestures of self-kindness need not be grand. Start small and you will still be doing the work of demonstrating love for You.
What if today, on Valentine's Day, you could begin a new healthy habit? Release yourself from the trap of waiting until you actually feel good about yourself to begin to treat your Self well. Instead, begin to practice daily Self-kindness, starting right now. What would it FEEL like to do something kind and thoughtful for YOU?
<3 - Dr. Patty
While it may seem overwhelming at times to imagine how it would feel to TRULY love your Self, it might seem less impossible if you remember that LOVE is a VERB, not a NOUN. Often in the process of change, behavior changes must occur before the emotional changes can happen. What this means for our purposes here, is that if you can engage in the ACT of caring for your Self, you are opening the door for true emotional change to happen. The more you can practice self-care, the more you will see that showing your Self some love can actually make you feel better! Gestures of self-kindness need not be grand. Start small and you will still be doing the work of demonstrating love for You.
What if today, on Valentine's Day, you could begin a new healthy habit? Release yourself from the trap of waiting until you actually feel good about yourself to begin to treat your Self well. Instead, begin to practice daily Self-kindness, starting right now. What would it FEEL like to do something kind and thoughtful for YOU?
<3 - Dr. Patty
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