You are a badass. A Warrior of love. A Queen, really. Look at how gloriously your eyes sparkle when you think of something you love! Look at how adorable your cheeks and nose are! Look how gorgeous your smile is! Woman, you radiate! Your soul is so pure and your spirit so divine that your beauty glows from the inside out. And you have so much potential. You are born for great things. GREAT things. You are here for purpose. No one else has your exact same strengths, talents, passions and life experiences, so no one can impact the world quite like you can. You have been through so much and all of it has given you strength, courage, and wisdom, and Woman, your wisdom is needed. YOU are needed. You are so worthy of love. Of self-love. Of divine love. Of love for who you are, in all of your perfect imperfections, and messy, sometimes chaotic life. Breathe my love, and know: YOU ARE PERFECT. AS IS.
What if every day someone told you that you were gorgeous, glorious and adorable – AS IS, “flaws” and all?
While I was in college, my then-boyfriend, my parents, and I were visiting a gallery on campus when I saw the most glorious mirror I'd ever seen. On it was printed:
You are gorgeous!
Oh how you shine!
Your eyes are beautiful and your lips soft and sweet.
You are just the epitome of perfection!
It went on and on, filling up the entire mirror with a love note to me. Of course, I had to have it! It was well before I knew I'd be a women's empowerment coach, but somehow I knew that reading those words every day would fill my heart and delight my soul.
I wish I still had it because the truth is that sometimes, I need to hear positive affirmations.
Like a few days ago, when I woke up to an email from a friend saying that she was mad at me. I had made a mistake that was going to cost her money, so I understood her anger. Of course I apologized, and said I would pay whatever the damage, but as a recovering perfectionist, my critical mind would not shut up about what an idiot I am!
Maybe you can relate? Do you get hard on yourself when you make a mistake?
Fortunately, I'm in the middle of the PurposeGirl 10 Day Self-Love Challenge, so I took it as an opportunity to apply my own lessons! It's easy to love yourself when you get a promotion or you fit into old sexy jeans… but when things go wrong? When you say something that hurts a friend? When you make a costly mistake? When you yell at your kids? When you gain weight?
Then self-love is hard.
In those moments, how do you treat yourself?
Research by University of Texas professor, Kristen Neff, finds that criticism isn't effective in motivating us to “do better” – rather, she finds that self-compassion is.
So I took this “mistake” as my opportunity to give myself love. Not to let myself “off the hook” – but to accept my humanness, embrace my “imperfections,” and use the experience as learning.
I thought about how my grandma or mom would respond to me if I had made a mistake that cost them money. They would be frustrated, but they would also love me anyway. So I touched my cheek like my grandma used to, and I told myself that everyone makes mistakes. I assured myself that it would be okay and reminded myself that for every “mis-take,” you can have a “re-take.” I then felt into what I had learned and how I would do it differently in the future. I wrote down my lessons. Then I went for a run, and then did yoga to move the anxiety through my body. I told myself – I am perfect AS IS – flaws and all.
With self-love, I felt better and I did better. Because with self-love, I was kinder with Josh, and more productive in finding a solution.
You are perfect AS IS. Right here. Right now. To remind you of it, I've created a mug that emulates my fabulous mirror. It has the words in italics at the beginning and end of this email!
This is the perfect gift for yourself or a friend for International Day of Self-Love and Galentine's Day, both February 13.
Plus, this week's episode of The PurposeGirl Podcast is ALL about how to loooooovvve yourself – and WHY you need to. (Spoiler alert – if you are at all self-loathing, others feel it and know it!) Click here to listen to this episode!
In addition, you can still join the PurposeGirl 10 Day Self-Love Challenge happening for free right now in my Facebook group (click here to join), and/or the free Self-Love Celebration class happening on February 13 (click here to register for the free class).
Whatever you do, remember this:
You are a badass. A Warrior of love. A Queen, really. Look at how gloriously your eyes sparkle when you think of something you love! Look at how adorable your cheeks and nose are! Look how gorgeous your smile is! Woman, you radiate! Your soul is so pure and your spirit so divine that your beauty glows from the inside out. And you have so much potential. You are born for great things. GREAT things. You are here for purpose. No one else has your exact same strengths, talents, passions and life experiences, so no one can impact the world quite like you can. You have been through so much and all of it has given you strength, courage, and wisdom, and Woman, your wisdom is needed. YOU are needed. You are so worthy of love. Of self-love. Of divine love. Of love for who you are, in all of your perfect imperfections, and messy, sometimes chaotic life. Breathe my love, and know: YOU ARE PERFECT. AS IS.
XOXOX Carin
Leave a Reply