In this series of Self-Love, we tackle down what it really means to #selflove in today’s social media’s culture. How do we achieve it? What is self-love? What little cute things can we do to tick off #selflove of the day? In this episode of self-love, we explore the idea of sustainability, just like keep cups. How do we sustain self-love practice that doesn’t come at the price of splurging your bank account? Like keep cups, we want self-love practices to be reusable, not disposable and make the world a healthier place.
Self-Love. Rupaul’s been saying for the past 11 seasons, Beyonce’s been singing about it for a decade now and Lizzo is redefining it.
But what is self-love exactly? And why do we FEEL like last minute splurging on ASOS is a form of practicing self care? Often we are told that the ways to make ourselves happy (as how most people would define self love) are achieved through buying something. Buy that $6 frappuccino and it will make you feel emotionally secure. But everyday? It's not sustainable.
We need to find alternative ways that don't often involve spending money but can get the exact same amount of happiness and confidence. Like keep cups, we want self love practices to be reusable, not disposable and good for the planet (cos all forms of love come from self love)
So enough with the "shoulds" and lets explore what exactly are there that we can do every single day to feel that we are loved, by ourselves.
1. Tell yourself that you are worth it.
Ugh, corny? But it's so often forgotten. We complement friends and strangers on the street how great their shirt looks or how pretty their earrings are but we rarely find the cause and the time to say that to ourselves.
If it's too much to confront yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that "you got it", write yourself a little memo on a sticky note of what qualities you think you've got it. Jot down, scribble and think of what you are thankful for that can remind yourself that you are valuable (which you are no matter what)
2. Make a playlist!
The power and the joy of creating a playlist is easily undermined but there is nothing better to get you pumped than making a power playlist that consists of your favourite artists. It doesn't always have to be Beyonce (even though it WILL boost your mood) but anything that you love is enough. It will remind you of the great and random taste that you have in music. And reminding yourself of that talent or the randomness that you have which is essentially what makes you, you, will get you closer to accepting the beautiful mess you are.
3. You do you.
So there are two small actions that you might be able to do on a regularly basis or mini mental notes that you can take whenever you ~feel~ like you need to practice self love. And you know the drill that webMD says, "go out for a run" or "drink more tea" -they are all good, but they might not be YOUR way of coping stress that may come with lack of self care.
Self love is literally navigating what you are all about . You don't necessarily need money, external validation, copious amount of T2 to make you feel worthy or to love. Of course, a bit of splurging at Sephora and trying on new TooFaced eye shadow doesn't hurt here and there, but at the very core of self love, remember that it's something that you want to do everyday and that's sustainable...not disposable.
By Sarah Lee
Social Media and Community Manager - She Can
