31/12/2023
Happy New Year!
I hope that you were able to enjoy the festive season with your loved ones, eat lots of yummy food and take some time out to really relax.
As one year draws to a close and another one expands before us, we naturally start to reflect on our lives and the changes that we would like to make. As a society, we tend to make our New Years' resolutions at this time and there is lots of talk of giving up certain things, starting new fitness regimes and new hobbies as we strive to improve ourselves. We can put a lot of pressure on ourselves to try and be better.
Of course, there is plenty of advertising to remind us that we're not enough. If we could just buy this, join that, subscribe to this, download that - maybe we'll be fitter, healthier, stronger, more confident, more successful and we can finally be happy and live the life that we've always dreamed of, just like the people in the adverts. Simple, right?
The problem is, it never ends, it’s never enough. WE are never enough. If we could just own this one more thing, learn this one more skill, quit this one more habit…. Maybe we’ll finally be complete?
So what if we stopped chasing and just stood still for a moment?
What if we stopped trying to improve ourselves and instead learned to love and accept ourselves?
What if we stopped trying to increase our material possessions, grow our bank balances and expand our intellectual minds? And instead we focused on increasing our self-compassion, growing our self worth and expanding our self-love?
What if our only New Years resolution this year was to focus on truly loving and accepting ourselves exactly as we are today? Fully appreciating who we are, what we have, what we are capable of and how far we have come in this life.
That’s not to say we’re no longer motivated to have nice things or make positive changes in our lives, but in shifting our perspective, we invite these things into our lives because we are WORTHY! Not because we feel that we’re not enough, that we’re lacking in some way or we’re comparing ourselves to people that we perceive to ‘have it all’ (newsflash - they don’t, and they probably experience self-doubt just like every other perfectly imperfect human).
So, maybe this year, your one focus could be improving your relationship with yourself, and that will set the most wonderful foundation for everything else in your life. Because when we start to love and accept ourselves fully, we feel deserving of EVERYTHING that life has to offer…
More happiness, more joy, more adventure, more health, more vitality, more love, more creativity, more gratitude, more connection, more kindness, more fun, more laughter. All of these things are your birthright!
If you let go of all of the things that you feel you are lacking and focus instead on cultivating the most beautiful, kind, compassionate relationship with yourself, you’ll be amazed at what you will attract into your life!
Here are a few self-love questions, that I invite you to sit with or write in your journal:
What are the things that I’m most proud of?
Who are the people that I cherish the most?
What are some of the skills that I have?
What do I like most about my body?
What are my best personality traits?
What are my most prized possessions?
Where are the most beautiful places that I have travelled to?
What are my most treasured memories?
What do I need to forgive myself for?
I would love to know if this resonates with you, if it does, let me know!
Much love,
Aloysia
