Love is in the air and whether we appreciate it or not, Valentine's day is here again. Candle lit dinners are booked, the perfect card is written, roses are bought by the dozens and presents are wrapped in red ribbon. All meant to show our loved ones that we care and love them so.

It is all very well loving another but what about the love we have for ourselves?

Most self-development books, courses and lectures of this nature remind us of the importance of 'loving ourself'. At the end of the day, the relationship with ourself is the only one that will always last, unlike other relationships which come and go. Therefore, the relationship with ourself is an important one to look after, to nourish and love, as if you were loving another or would like to be loved. You may read this and laugh, get embarrassed, think it is silly, maybe even too hippie or find loving yourself hard to do. Yet loving who you are is an essential ingredient to being happy, having good self esteem, confidence and self-worth, facing life's challenges with a greater certainty and generally having a better quality of life. It also gives you stability and increases your capacity to love others and be loved.

We are all searching for that person to love us, make us whole and complete, like a fairy tale with a happy ending. This may or may not be reality but what is real is that we can give this quality to ourself, relying not only on others but on our inner resources. It is the most rewarding and loving thing you can do for yourself!

So, what can you do to get the ball rolling or continue to nurture yourself? Here are some ideas!

• Buy yourself a Valentine's gift.
• Write yourself a card of appreciation, including all the things you love about yourself, as if you were writing to a loved one.
• Treat yourself to something special. A long hot relaxing bath, a day of pampering, take time out to read a good book, anything that you normally put aside because there is always something more important. This is important too!
• Work on strengthening your capacity to love yourself. Explore different ways to find out what works for you.
• Remind yourself how important you are, not just today but everyday.
• Think about yourself, what works for you in your life and what can be improved on?
• Words are easily said, but love is shown through action. Learn to love yourself unconditionally!

"One must learn to love oneself before one can learn to love others."

--Source Unknown--

         Book Recommendations  

The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm

A reader from Amazon said the following about this book: "This is truly one of the most influential books in my life. If you want to live in a happy and lasting relationship this book is a must. Fromm has such a way of making profound matters easy to understand. Read this book and become and expert in the art of loving!"

How to heal your life by Louise L Hays
She has many books that are easy to follow and give practical ways of learning to love yourself and breaking old habits that prevent you from doing so.

There are many others books on this topic and if you have any that you would like to share with others please let me know and I will pass it on, in the next issues.

"Love and magic have a great deal in common.
They enrich the soul, delight the heart.
And they both take practice."

-- Nora Roberts --

Coaching

Coaching is an effective way of developing your capacity to love, respect and appreciate yourself. I would encourage you to put care and attention to this area of your life if you know there is room for improvement.

I am happy to offer a free taster session to anyone that would like to take that step towards loving themselves. Please contact me on coaching@marisabull.com.

Happy Valentine's day to all of you and wishing you a wonderful month.

Best wishes, Marisa

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