The Beatles Had It Right

Love Is Every Thing

Something’s different within our society since COVID. Conversations don’t flow like they once did, until we’re behind closed doors. We’ve lost connection to our universal language — love.

Love is more than a feeling. 

Love is more than an emotion or mental state. I think it’s safe to say that it transcends sensation, as well as cultures, and even time. Love is a glue that can bind us together in times of hardship.

Love can be the unspoken driving force that propels us forward into the future and into the unknown. Love is what propels us through uncertainty and fear.

When I work with younger people, they describe love as that heart-fluttering excitement of a first crush. The more mature generations often describe love as a profound connection that has become entwined within a lifelong partnership.

Love enriches our lives in countless ways. Just ask anyone who owns a Labrador. These four-legged fur balls only know how to love you; there’s not much else beyond the desire to always eat or have you pat them. Our pets love us unconditionally, even grumpy cats.

As a therapist and mature menopausal woman, I’ve experienced firsthand how vital love actually is for our life force. Love is as vital as clean air, sleep and nutritious food. But I’m not talking about the love from others. I’m referencing your capacity and willingness to love yourself.

It’s my belief that the most important love of all is the one we often (and so easily) overlook — love for ourselves.

In this blog, let’s explore why self-love is everything, sprinkled with humor, positive affirmations, and practical tips.

Why Should You Love Yourself?

When working with trauma clients, or long term depression/anxiety clients, I will explain the need for love. I make references and connections of how self love can support an individual’s healing journey. Here are some examples.

1. You’re Stuck With Yourself for Life

As the Confucious saying goes, “Wherever you go, there you are.” You are the one constant companion throughout your life journey. That person that you see every day is the one constant in your life. Your reflection and relationship with yourself is the longest you will have in life. So it makes sense that it’s a good one.

Loving yourself makes that life journey a lot more enjoyable. Would you want to spend a road trip with someone who constantly criticises you? Of course not! So, learning to be kind to yourself, and ideally becoming your own best friend, is essential.

2. Boost Your Confidence

Loving yourself actually builds confidence, which leads to resilience. The energy associated with confidence fuels so much positivity within your mind and body.

When you back yourself, you stretch the boundary of how much life you invest in any given day. You’ll push yourself to achieve. This creates a magnetic hormonal response to want more of that feel-good reward — dopamine.

You can boost confidence by simply appreciating your own worth. This enables you to become your own cheerleader. The more you try and love the experience, the more you want to try and push yourself a little further. This ongoing effort boosts your resilience and generates more courage to continue towards your goals.

By learning to love yourself, you gain confidence. This boosts your capacity to be able to face challenges head-on and believe in your ability to succeed. I am regularly reminding clients of the words of the great philosopher, RuPaul: “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?”

3. Improve Your Relationships

Self-love isn’t selfish; it’s essential. In fact, I have deeply contemplated the word selfish. When working with clients, I will deliberately enunciate it in a particular way to emphasize the reference to more SELF. 

Here are some alternatives-

• Self-ish.
• Self-ing
• Self-more
• Self-ed

Learning to like, and then love yourself sets an unconscious tone for how others should treat you. When you love yourself, you treat yourself with kindness. When you love yourself, you are gentle and kind with your language and self-talk. Your desire to maintain healthy boundaries is strong, and consequently, you often attract positive relationships. There’s even a universal law of attraction that states ‘like attracts like’.

My advice is to learn to like yourself first. There’s an art to it, especially if you’ve become a slave to social media and are addicted to the quick fix of scrolling and comparing yourself to others.

Here’s the thing, when you master the like yourself bit, you’re actually residing within the frequency of love. So learn to love yourself first, and allow yourself to observe how the world can mirror that love back to you.

4. Enhance Your Mental Health

The art of self-love, being willing to like yourself to the point of approval, is a cornerstone for good mental health. Naturally, being kind to yourself, generates more positive energy within your body.

With more physical energy, you are likely to move more, become productive and perhaps even creative. Movement from positive influence reduces stress and anxiety and this boosts your capacity to overcome obstacles that life presents.

The more you invest in you, and work towards loving self, you increase your ability to ride the waves of life. Let’s face it, we all experience ups and downs. How you react to life directly influences your emotional stability and capacity to experience joy. Living with an open heart, and loving yourself increases your capacity for gratitude and receive even more love.

Treating yourself with kindness and compassion enables you to nurture a healthier, more balanced mind. In turn, a calm mind contributes to a calm nervous system.

5. Unleash Your Full Potential

When you learn to believe in yourself, you open yourself up to your hidden treasures. I’m talking about learning and embracing those traits that make you unique and ultimately define what you’re really worth.

Something magical happens when you can embrace your true essence. You develop a hunger to shine that more to the outside world. Ultimately, you’ll come to learn that this is your life purpose -to share your true essence with the world.

Living from this intentional space, from a place of loving self, you naturally become more inclined to pursue your dreams. And those dreams don’t include a million dollars, because you will only manifest a million bucks’ worth of bills.

Those dreams should include a life filled with joyful laughter. And so I ask you this — what would life be like if I could always find something to laugh with? Or make me smile?

Conclusion

Love really is everything. Self-love can and should be your emotional foundation upon which all other forms of love flourish. By embracing your worth, celebrating your uniqueness, and practicing self-compassion, you can create a life filled with joy, confidence, and fulfillment. 

So I invite you to love yourself fiercely and then watch as your world transforms in beautiful ways.

After all, as the Beatles so wisely sang, “All you need is love” — especially the love you give yourself.

Want to read more like this?

This is My Roar – signed copies of my first published book can be purchased from this website.

Self Reflection – A little Look Within – click here

8 Hot Tips How To Journal – click here

Can You Risk Not Stepping Up To Mother yourself? – Click here