One night last year, I was lying awake at 2 am, painfully aware of the discomfort in my body, fed up with all the random symptoms, and frustrated at myself.

For so many years I've been caught in a cycle of distracting myself from my emotions with food and then feeling shame for treating my body that way.

And now my body had this important message it wanted me to wake up and listen to! It was calling out for help. It wanted me to stop ignoring it and start LOVING IT.

And then out of nowhere, Ralph Wiggum’s voice from The Simpsons suddenly popped into my mind.

I choo-choo-choose me!

I smiled, delighted at the playful way this message had chosen to come to me. And I revelled in the child-like simplicity of it all. I just had to decide I was worth treating with respect.

The decision to love ourselves is likely the most important decision we'll ever make in our lives.

When we decide to treat ourselves with respect and prioritize our needs, we're happier and able to show up better for the people in our lives. We also have way more mental & emotional energy freed up to fulfill the purpose we're here to carry out during our time on earth.

But, while the decision to love ourselves is simple, it’s not easy to do. We have decades of messages that there’s something wrong with us to undo.

After that night at 2 am, I wish I could say I started treating myself like gold and haven't looked back since. I certainly put in a good effort for awhile, and I've come a LONG way in improving the way I see my body.

But, as you know, we can have the best of intentions...and life will throw things at us, as if to say: Are you sure you’re sure? How committed are you to this, really? When I found myself in a similar body-crying-out-for-attention situation last week, I once again renewed my deep commitment to choo-choo-choosing myself. 😋

Self Love is top of mind once more.

Today, I’m wondering if you’ll join me in leaning more deeply into self love?

Here’s what I’m proposing: let’s give ourselves permission for 10 minutes of ME time right now to unwind, get centered, and fill ourselves with the energy of self love and healing. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

So I invite you to come into your Being Place, get comfortable, and try on a few of the affirmations below. As you say each one a few times, simply notice what comes up for you, and journal about it when you're all done.

Here they are:

I am worthy of love and joy.
I love and accept myself exactly as I am.
I choose to feel good about myself every day.
I am worth loving.
I love every cell of my body.

Here's to reclaiming LOVE. ❤️