Oct/Nov 2023 Aspire Magazine FULL Issue | Page 52

myself , the light comes from deep within me . It burns far brighter . I become the spark , the flame , the fire .

1 . Self-love mirror work . Spend time each day in front of the mirror . Look into your eyes repeat , “ I love you .” Researchers say you can start feeling love after you say those words .

2 . Smile at yourself . Smile , smile , smile . You might think that you smile when you ’ re happy , but the opposite is true . When you smile , you become happier . According to researchers , the muscles in your face can influence your brain into thinking you ’ re happy . So , even if you must fake it until you make it , put a grin on your face .

3 . Put yourself first on the list . It is said that character is what you do when nobody else is looking . Self-love is what you wear when nobody else is looking . Until I started loving myself , I never knew how important clean , fresh underpants were . This will make me blush , but I always wore ripped , old underpants that I never wanted to throw out . I didn ’ t care about myself . I would buy new underpants for everyone in my family , except myself . I realized I had put myself last on the list .

You don ’ t need to wear fancy , lacy lingerie ( you can if you want but you don ’ t have to ). The point is this : you are taking care of yourself in a very intimate way . Your heart is fuller when you take care of yourself . That means what you wear and how you take care of your clothes , especially those that are private .

4 . Treat yourself with gentleness .

For example , after you wash your face , use a soft towel , and pat your skin dry with kindness , gentleness and care . Pretend you are drying the most precious thing — because you are . This is a physical act that can help you feel loved .

5 . Practice saying no ! Before I learned to love myself , I always said yes to people ’ s requests , even when their demands were unreasonable . Even when they asked me to do things I didn ’ t want to do . I was frightened that if I said no , people would stop loving me . But now that I love myself , it doesn ’ t matter who stops loving me . I pay attention to my own needs and wants . I practice saying no to others and saying yes to myself .

Remember , you can travel all around the world , meeting billions of people , but nobody deserves your love as much as you . So , love , love , love yourself .

Love yourself like your life depends on it . And yes , it does .

DIANA RACHEL BLETTER - Diana latest book is The Loving Yourself Book for Women : A Practical Guide to Boost Self-Esteem , Heal Your Inner Child , and Celebrate the Woman You Are , an Amazon top-seller in several categories . A Loving Yourself Book for Tweens is forthcoming . Diana and her husband have six children and an unofficially-adopted daughter from Ethiopia .