10 things I love/want to love about myself.

Self-love is an interesting and very broad topic. For some people the discovery of self-love and fulfilment can be an uplifting and amazing experience, while many others may find it to be a difficult, unpleasant and almost never ending journey. I, am most definitely the latter. Each morning I drag my ass out of bed, look in the mirror and say my daily positive affirmations. For some reason I struggle a lot with giving myself a little bit of kindness. Yes, I know..”wow Éania your life is so hard”, well, it’s the little things that make a big difference. Due to this ‘slight’ daily struggle I've taken to the internet to research and document my personal progress. My latest online Google search has taught me that ‘self-love’ is defined as having a high regard for your well-being and happiness, by taking care of your own needs and not sacrificing yourself to please others. It means not settling for less than you deserve.

It must be said that I have started this journey time and time again. Over the last number of years, I have watched movies/webinars, read books/online articles, spoken to friends/family and attended therapy hoping it would aid me in my long journey to self-love. Although these elements have helped and I highly recommend them, personally I found them to be a ‘short-term fix’ and I knew I needed to push myself further. Regrettably my list of self-discontructive behaviour is much longer, but that shit isn't helpful and I also don’t want to keep you here all day. Thankfully today is not one of those days and I am here to write 10 things that I love or want to love about myself. I know this blog may seem very much ‘Éania-orintated’ but I encourage you to read my list and apply it to yourself. This piece is just another way in which I can help myself in my search for fulfilment in who I am, as a person both inside and out.

Okay, I am ready, I am kind, I am important, I am sexy and I love myself.. kinda...not really...sometimes. Oh my god I’m the worst. How do I mute myself?

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#1 I'm very loving

I love that I have a lot of love to give. I care a lot for other people and their well-being, probably more than my own (which is not a good look). Sometimes I care so much that I scare myself but I am calmed by the fact that I know the compassion I have for others is pure and filled with absolute admiration. I firmly believe that giving your heart to others is the best thing you can do for yourself. It allows you to be open, honest, vulnerable and trusting. My empathy and sensitivity towards others is effortless and widley fulfilling. But in order to keep the universe nicely balanced I cry a lot in the process (lol). As American novelist Tony Robbins once said “the secret to living is giving” and I’m just very thankful that I have a lot to give.

Try to think of an emotional trait about yourself that you love about yourself.

#2 My nose

I literally am so obsessed with my nose. I don’t care how overly confident I sound but my nose is the definition of a button nose and it is adorable. It is hands down my favourite facial feature. In conclusion, my nose is great.

What part of your body do you love? Pick one and try love it even more.

#3 I will never bullshit you

Was I bullied in school because I never kept my cheeky mouth shut? You betcha! I have always found it very very very difficult to hold my tongue or to lie through my teeth. Over the years I have definitely learned how to reel it in and simmer down but unfortunately old habits die hard and I still manage to get myself into a lot of trouble. In regards to my attitude and my words, I love that I am truly authentic and real. I speak up because that’s how I show I care but whether I am ‘real’ or not this aspect of myself has been faced with adversity from myself and others. I am slowly learning that this element of my personality can be viewed positively if my attitude is in the correct mindset. I will learn to not resent this aspect of myself but love it enough so I can develop and mature as a young outspoken righteous woman.

Do you have a quality that has been viewed negatively by others? If so, how can you change that into a personal positive?

#4 I give good advice

Obviously this opinion of myself is very much subjective and a tad bit biased but I genuinely do believe that I give good, solid advice to others. Sometimes I worry that when I listen and give advice I become overly invested within the other person's problem/predicament. But thankfully due to time and self-growth I have enabled myself to become detached from the issue at hand and provide others with a new perspective and an impartial opinion. All I really want to do is help others as I know many would do the same for me. It has to be said that ‘wise beyond my years’ wisdom has never received a bad complaint or any negative feedback so I’m going to take that as a win and say that I love it about myself.

It’s now time to be kind to yourself and follow the amazing advice you give so freely to others.

#5 My skin

I can openly admit that I have never had a ‘skin care routine’ as I am very lucky to be blessed with good (but sometimes dry) skin. Similar to my emotions my skin is a sensitive soul. It scars, bruises and wounds itself very easily. Admittedly I have a strong hint of rosacea in my cheeks that is not shy to appear every single time I am warm but that’s okay because overall it is mostly soft, smooth and at times very rosie. I love all my random freckles and moles and even my numerous shaving scars on my legs. But most of all I love that it does its sole purpose by keeping my insides in!

I hope you love the skin that you’re in because its yours and you should WORK IT!

#6 My ability to forgive myself

My journey of self-love and fulfilment has been mostly unpleasant and difficult because I have not fully grasped the ability to forgive myself. Like many of us, at the ripe old age of 22 I still struggle with being kind to myself, making peace and moving forward from the past. Being able to forgive yourself requires a lot of compassion, empathy and understanding, qualities in which I do not lack. My inner critic isn't muted as much as she should be, which in the long run impacts on me a lot. I am slowly loving myself enough to forgive myself for what happened in the past whether it was my fault or not. I hope that someday I'll be able to write a blog surrounding this topic as it impacts so many of us. Slowly but surely I am beginning to experience the freeing feeling of forgiveness and tenderness towards myself and I love that.

If you are reading this and instantly understand or can recognise an element similar to this within yourself, then it’s time to give it a little more TLC.

#7 I’m an openbook

Hmm I see there’s a recurring theme of ‘openness’ here. As you can tell, I am a professional at getting in touch with my array of emotions and feelings. I adore the fact that I have the capability to have a big ole cry at any given moment or that I can honestly talk about myself and my experiences to a complete stranger, drunk or sober! I think my body would fully combust if I kept in how I truly felt about myself, other people, the world or about the fact that ‘Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging’ is the best movie ever made.

I hope you open up yourself, your thoughts, feelings and emotions to others because the freedom it brings helps so much with your inner healing.

#8 Words are my love language

As we have previously discussed words can be both my triumph and my downfall but talking is my ‘go to’ way of expressing myself. I adore the fact that I can tell someone wholeheartedly why I love them or how proud of them I am. I just need to learn how to say those gorgeous things to myself.

What’s your love language? Not sure? Find out on https://www.5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/

#9 I try my best to be sustainable

The small efforts I’ve made to become more sustainable and eco-friendly have made a positive impact on my mentality. I know that my own actions will not change the world or the ozone layer but I understand the importance of playing a small role within reducing my own personal waste, trying to buy ‘green’, avoiding the ‘fast’ industry and materialistic consumerism. I feel as though the changes I've made have affected those around me and allowed them to feel better about themselves and their personal intake. I love that I care so much about the small stuff and I also love how much I hate fast fashion (If I get my shit together I hope to do another blog post on these small changes I've made)!

What can you do to help yourself mentally? It can be anything big or small.

#10 The way I look

Well now this is a tricky one because in all honesty I’m not there just yet. Recently I’ve been having a crisis about the way I look. I am in an urgent search for ‘my signature style’, in addition to wanting to gain confidence when wearing any of my clothes. I am looking for the love and motivation within myself to mind and take care of my physical body. I want to love myself enough to be proud of what I see when I look in the mirror. Besides from this, I am so happy that I really do love my eyes, my nose, my teeth, my smile, my hair, my hands and my little ankles because I know that I’ll love everything in between very very soon. My new trick is to keep telling myself, “stop overthinking you look unreal”.

This may be the toughest element of self-love for many of us. Try to befriend your mirror image, make sure to compliment and be kind to it. Remember no love compares to the love you have for yourself.

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Phew! Well this blog only took me a total of ten hours to write, one reason per hour. I don’t know about you but I would say call that a success... It may seem that whenever someone begins to praise themselves publicly, others may view it as cocky or conceited - and for certain people that may be true but regardless of this, everyone should practice and preach self-love. Although it may be exhausting and take you half a day to write a ‘quick’ blog about it, you must be kind and love yourself.

Throughout this blog I hope you thought of the many aspects about yourself that you love. Well I hope you have because now I want to hear from you. I know exactly how difficult it is to list out 10 characteristics you love about yourself but I would love and appreciate if you could either comment on or share this blog along with ONE thing you love about yourself. Trust me, it will make you feel great (and it'll give me the reassurance I crave so much). I hope you enjoyed this very self-involved piece. Thank you for being with me on my journey for self-love.

All my love,

X