Did you know that Valentines Day is ths second largest card giving day of the year?
Today billions of cards will be exchanged throughout the world. Traditional it was a day for lovers to express their love for each other by sending Valentines cards, love notes, presenting red roses, and heart shaped chocolates wrapped with big red ribbons.
Over the years Valentine’s Day has grown to become not only a day for lovers but a day to show how much we love and appreciate the all the people in our lives….parents, children, siblings, friends and so on.
Some say Valentine’s Day is over rated, and that they’d rather spend the day alone. Others feel that it’s ridiculous to designate one day a year to show your love and appreciation for those in your life. While others, like we love it!
I get to show my clients just how much I appreciate them by decorating their Bootcamp room with rose peddles, balloons, streamers, and serve them up some delicious guilt-free LYL Chocolate mouse.
I get to buy a rose for Mackenzie’s nanny and create fun loop bags for her day-care friends, and help her put heart-shaped stickers all over them.
I take the time to buy the man I love a card and share just how much I love him and thank him for his patience with me and for supporting my dreams.
However, today I’m not going to challenge your personal thoughts on Valentine’s day, but rather help you acknowledge the most important person missing on your Valentine’s List..
…. and that person is You!!!
The song “Greatest Love of All” performed by Whitney Houston contains the following lyrics:
“I found the greatest love of all/Inside of me/ … Learning to love yourself/It is the greatest love of all.”
There are many types of love that we have for the people in our lives: love for a romantic partner or spouse, for our family, for our children, for our friends, for humanity, and for ourselves.
Which of these is most important? Which should be our first priority?
Should you put your love for yourself before the love of your spouse, or your children?
Is self-love really the “Greatest Love of All”?
Or is it selfish and self-indulgent?
THAT’s what I challenge you to really think about today.
Although I do believe that love for others is extremely important, and essential to increasing the quality of our own lives. However, I do believe that self-love should – and must – come first.
Do you agree or disagree with that statement?
We hear, over and over again, “Before you can love someone else, you have to love yourself, first.” Yet, on some level, so many of us feel uncomfortable with this idea.
Why?
Many of us, especially women, we have assumed the role as caregiver. Whether we wear the title of spouse, parent, nurse, doctor, teacher, counsellor, volunteer worker, or any of the host of other roles, many of us tend to put the needs of others before our own needs.
We try to please and care for others first, often putting ourselves last.
We measure our self worth by our ability to love and care for others.
As a Fitness & Nutrition Coach, I encounter daily clients who believe that self-love and putting them first, is a “bad” thing. They see this as “selfish” or “self-centered.” Quick often their health and fitness goals take a back seat to the needs of everyone else in their lives.
Just this week, I received an email from a client whose best friend’s mother is dying with cancer and has been given 6 weeks to live. Being the supportive friend she has been spending hours every evening caring for her best friend. Beginning to feel run down, due to lack of sleep, exercise and poor eating habits, she emails me looking for advice.
This is a scenario I hear quite frequently from many of my clients.
Time and time again their initial commitment to take care of themselves is put aside to come to the aid of friends, family, or their career.
The frequency of these types of emails is what has motivated me to build a business based on self-love. To help women truly embrace that they must care of themselves first, and to show them that this is not selfish behavior, but rather a reflection of self-love.
When I speak of self-love, I am NOT advocating that we should stop caring for others, and just focus on ourselves, that would be selfish.
Being in service and giving back to your loved ones and showing kindness and love to others is a key to having a fulfilling life…it’s our purpose in live.
I do what I do every day because I care about increasing the quality of your life! I want you to live your best life in your best body!
Maintaining a balance is critical on this journey to self-love. You cannot keep giving to others if you do not give to yourself, first. It’s like taking money out of your bank account,: you cannot take and take without ever depositing – eventually your bank account will be empty.
Just like your bank account, you too, need to make deposits; healthy deposits that recharge, and re-energize so can continue to give.
One of the most important ways to love yourself is to take care of your body, your mind, and your spirit. Nourish and care for your body by eating well, exercising regularly, and getting lots of rest and by taking a few minutes each day to do something you love.
Please know that…
Self-love is NOT “selfish”. The lack of self-love….is “Self-neglect”
That’s the Love Yourself Lean Motto!
When you love yourself, you invest in your personal growth and development. You endeavour to be the best that you can be in life.
Don’t you deserve that?
Wouldn’t your loved ones what that for you too?
So today celerbate YOU! And all that you LOVE about yourself before you express your love and sweet Valentine’s Day gifts to others.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Much Love,
Courtney