4 Ways to Super Charge Your Self Love

When was the last time you celebrated you, just because your joy was overflowing and you wanted to share it?

Celebrations aren't only for special occasions. One of the beauties of celebration is that the more you celebrate, the more you have to celebrate. I'm not talking about a party, a celebration is something quite different.

A celebration is meant to observe (a day or event) with ceremonies of respect, festivity, or rejoicing. It's also an expansive and contagious energy that awakens your connection to Life and honors the energy of this sacred moment.

Let me share how a birthday celebration flipped the self-love switch for me.

For decades I dreaded my birthday. No matter how someone might honor my birthday, it never seemed quite memorable. Afterwards, I always felt disappointed and let down.

One year, it finally dawned on me that I had plenty of expectations of how others should treat me on my birthday. That year I decided I would celebrate me, exactly the way I wanted. That changed everything. I've had great birthdays ever since.

Do you want to meet the love of your life? Look in the mirror. Byron Katie

Waiting for someone else to appreciate you, regardless of the occasion, can be a recipe for disaster. You set out with high hopes, envisioning the perfect day, and feel terribly let down when the experience falls short of your vision. Anticipating a perfect day, or that someone else will make you feel special, can also lead to serious disappointment. If you only have one or two of these days per year – birthdays and holidays – it can really build up a lot of pressure to live up to.

Loving yourself, and celebrating yourself, changes everything about your life. You stop putting up with the mediocre stuff. You end destructive relationships and friendships that have fizzled out. You awaken to your passions and dreams and risk bringing them into being. You start living into a greater version of yourself and attract amazing people into your world. You stop seeking fulfillment from people and things and start discovering the powerhouse that lives within. It completely alters your existence in a way that you could not possibly imagine.

When you feel stuck, trapped, or lost you have a choice. You can choose to see the magic and the miracles all around you or you can choose to focus on the problems.

You, as much as anyone in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. Buddha

Four Ways to Supercharge Your Self Love

Here are four ways you can celebrate your self-love:

1. Look in the mirror. Every day, even twice a day, look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I Love You!” Make sure to muster up some yummy energy and smile at yourself while saying it. If you can use a full-length mirror and look yourself up and down and love yourself up. Feeling bold? Do this exercise naked. Focus on what's fabulous about your body… your smooth skin, your luscious hair, your strong back. Go for it! When you focus more on everything that's great about yourself, that's when you really start to love yourself more.

2. Show me the love. This exercise is guaranteed to tune up those self-love sensors and amp up your receiving vibration! Every day, for the next seven days, ask one person, “What are the top 5 things you love about me?” They can share more if they like, but they should list at least 5 things. If you want to boost the effectiveness of this exercise and guarantee a shift in your ability to receive, share these with your inner circle. I did this a while back and stored the responses to an ‘I Love Adela' folder. Whenever I felt a dip in my self-love vibe I would read what my friends had written and would get that instant energy lift. This exercise not only flexes your receiving muscles but also your asking muscles. These are both keys to creating a rich and rewarding life.

3. Throw yourself a party. Maybe it isn't the bash of the year, but you can throw yourself a little shindig and spend some quality time with the people who love you. No need to tell them it's a party to celebrate you (though you could if you wanted to!), but take some time to literally celebrate yourself. Partying not your speed? Do something that makes you feel festive!

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

We celebrate what we intrinsically value. So celebrations are really important to honor your essential worth. Don't wait for a special occasion. Honor yourself and celebrate your own light today and every day!