New Year, New Chance to Love Yourself
It’s that time of year again. Another year has come and gone. The New Year is here. It’s filled with promise, hope, and possibility. It’s a chance to set goals for ourselves and begin anew. We can slough off our skin from the year before and start fresh.
This is the common message we hear year after year, isn’t it? It sounds encouraging and positive, but when you strip back the pretty, fluffy words, you’re left with this demand to “fix” yourself; to “be better” this year. I have struggled with perfectionism my whole life. It has taken me 30 years, but I have finally come to understand that perfection is a synonym to impossible.
We set lofty, unrealistic goals for ourselves. Then, when we don’t reach them at the end of that year, we allow ourselves to fill up again with self doubt and shame. Our gym bag sits by the back door, the basement remains unfinished, and I never did get around to cleaning out the garage.
So we turn to external stimuli for validation and gratification. We let the outside world and media tell us that “if we just bought this one thing, had this one treatment done, or joined this gym etc.” that we would finally be happy! Our goals would be fulfilled, and we would be satisfied.
Does this sound like you? Don’t feel bad, I think we all fall victim to these false promises once in a while.
Look At Yourself Differently This Year
“New Year. New You.” We see and hear this message everywhere. You might even be surprised that it’s not the title of this blog. It’s because, what if, you allowed 2020 to be the year that you looked at yourself a little differently (a little pun intended there)? What if you loved yourself this year? Does this sound like a novel concept to you? Perfect, you’re the exact candidate I’m looking for. I’m talking about self love every day, not just on Self-Care-Sundays.
Be Good To Yourself
This doesn’t have to be an extravagant ritual every day. Maybe it’s just taking a little time for yourself each day through journaling, meditating, or going for a run; whatever helps to ground you and remind you why you’re worthy of your own love.
Try to focus on what you like about yourself, instead of focusing on what you don’t. I challenge you to take a moment right now and tell yourself 3 things that you love about yourself. Was that hard to do? I promise if you keep practicing, it will get easier each day.
"When you make the choice to love yourself, your whole world will change. Suddenly, you see yourself as an individual worthy of love from others, a person worthy of respect and value."
Now, you’re probably thinking that this blog seems very counterintuitive seeing as how my job security depends on clients coming in looking to change something about themselves. But maybe that’s the wrong way to look at it. Maybe when my clients come in to see me, I’m giving them a chance to remember what they love about themselves.
A little Botox here to open up your eyes and show off how luminous they are, a little filler here to highlight your already beautiful cheekbones.
"Sometimes a little Botox to erase your frown lines will give you the confidence you need to take on the day...and maybe in turn that gives you the opportunity to love yourself."
Maybe you’re reading this last bit, and you were with me up until I started talking about injections. You may be thinking that getting any type of cosmetic injection done goes against everything I was preaching to you earlier. I would strongly disagree with you though. If cosmetic injections aren’t for you, and you love your physical appearance the way you naturally are, I applaud you. I really do. I wish I could exude that confidence.
Embracing Who I Really Am
Something that I love about myself is that I am introverted. It used to be something that I saw as a detriment to my personality. It sometimes made social situations more difficult, etc.
Over the last few years, I have learned to love it about myself, though. I’m very in tune with myself internally. I feel things deeply. And I really like that about myself! Sometimes, however, I need a little liquid courage (whether that be Botox or a little Restylane) to see myself in the best light.
Erasing a couple of little lines helps me focus on the things that I do love about myself. Is that a character flaw of mine? Maybe, but I’ve got a whole New Year to work on it ;)Come see me or one of our other fabulous staff at EA this New Year. Let us help you remember what there is to love about yourself (hint: there’s a lot!).
