I Love Myself, Therefore...

​"I love myself, therefore..." how would you complete this sentence?

How does that sentence make you feel? Do you instantly start to feel anxious or uncomfortable? Great! Lean into that. Why does the thought of loving yourself bring up these feelings? Often we live our lives from the perspective of limiting beliefs that, over time, we have accepted as truth. The real truth is these beliefs are lies- messages we have been told growing up, maybe from scorned lovers, or messages fed to us from the media.
Some of these lies may include "You're not good enough", "You'll never have enough money", "Thin is beautiful", "Conflict is bad", etc.
It is so easy to continue these limiting belief loops, well, because that has been our norm. They're so ingrained in us we don't consciously think of them, unaware of how powerfully they affect how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. And by choosing to change these beliefs, we are choosing to fight our brain patterns (I'll do another post on how the brain is affected by our thoughts), which takes time and consistency.
By choosing to change these beliefs, we are choosing to make a difficult decision. But if our normal pattern includes berating ourselves day in and day out, should we simply allow this to continue? Think about it this way: If you said the messages that you replay in your head out loud to a loved one, hopefully they wouldn't continue exposing themselves to that type of abuse. So why do we consider it acceptable for us to continue to constantly belittle ourselves internally?!  Making the difficult decision to change this thinking is so worth it. This is your life we're talking about.

So let's take a look at how we can start to change these belief patterns....

Mantras are a great way to start to challenge limiting beliefs. Mantras can be created for a year, a month, a moment- there's a mantra for any season or situation! At the beginning of this year I wrote out the mantras from which I wanted to live out each day. I focused on one in particular and made it a point to repeat the following mantra hundreds of times per day: "I love and accept myself exactly as I am." 
The prospect of saying a mantra hundreds of times per day seemed excessive at first, but I quickly realized it paled in comparison to the number of times per day I was telling myself numerous limiting beliefs.  And those limiting beliefs became even more apparent to me when I started to challenge them.  For a while, and perhaps even now, my limiting beliefs- those lies that I have been told and have told myself- have been screaming at me. Attempting to derail my relationships and keep me from fulfilling my true potential.
Some days I don't feel like this mantra is truthful in any way. But I continue to speak  it anyway.  Some days I am exhausted from fighting to simply love myself, and other days I realize that my worldview has been starting to shift to a perspective of love.  I realize I am looking at people around me from a place of peace and humanity as opposed to a place of judgement. I realize I am listening to truly listen, not simply waiting to drown another in my opinions. And I know this all stems from me choosing to love myself first.

I am still primarily focusing on this one main mantra, and have also included the following mantras throughout the day, even if only first thing in the morning and before I go to bed.
"I am willing to change"
"The thoughts I am thinking and the words I am declaring at this moment are creating my future"
"I release all resistance"
"Everything I need to know is revealed to me"
"Everything I need comes to me"
"I am young, youthful, and full of vitality"
"Money flows to me in abundance"
"Everything I touch is a success"

​When we change our perspective from one of untruths and limiting beliefs to one of love and acceptance, we start to see our entire world change.

Because our perception of the world is changing. A world we did not allow ourselves to see starts to reveal itself to us. Beauty and good and love are here, but it's not until we love ourselves that we are able to truly see it surrounding us.
How would you complete this sentence "I love myself, therefore...."? Simply put pen to paper and write without thinking- without letting those limiting beliefs creep in. Write all of the ways in which you choose to treat yourself and others, from the perspective of love. Then write a mantra and don't give up on it or yourself. Speak it to yourself 300-400 times per day (yes, seriously). It's not too late to save yourself from your beliefs. Your truth is fighting to be discovered again.