LOVE is the most amazing feeling in the world!  Knowing that you are loved by someone is a sort of validation that you are wonderful and precious… But No one told me that loving myself was more important than being loved by someone else.

I was brought up to be humble, not ask for much, and not take up space.  I wanted to be the centre of attention, but because of situations I felt as if I was always asking for too much. So I pushed my needs down and let everyone else have their space so that I wouldn’t cause too much disruption.
Flashback to future years, and I still never wanted to ask for much in relationships, and just hoped and prayed that someone would love me….

I was consistently looking for someone to validate me for who I was, and yet even then I never truly felt loved because I never let myself open up enough for them to appreciate the real me.  
Why?  Because I didn’t love myself.  
 
Years went by, and I had randomly picked up a book by someone: In it I read how important it was to love yourself.  Love myself… What? how conceited!
But as I continued reading, eventually I realized that I didn’t like myself very much at all.

What no one told me about relationships is that the most important one that you will ever have – is the one with yourself.

If you have a great relationship with yourself, you create healthy boundaries, which in turn heightens your self-confidence and ability to be brave and vulnerable.

(Some people my see it as selfish, but those are usually the people who are trying to disrespect your boundaries).
There is a huge difference between being selfish and self-full: selfish people don’t care about others, while self-full people care about others while respecting their boundaries.  Self-full people will give, but not beyond the point where they are disrespected.

Boundaries are necessary in all relationships:  they are limits that are created from your values.  This is why relationships are not easy: Each of us has different ideas of what a relationship is, what they expect from it, as well as values.  Loving yourself gives you the confidence to honour your values and create your boundaries. 

Do you love yourself?  What is it about yourself that you love most?   What are your values and what boundaries do you have in place in your relationships?  And do those around you respect your boundaries?

Make sure to look back at yourself in the mirror every day and remember how you’ve gotten to where you are.

Admire yourself and your strengths and flaws and know that the most important relationship begins with YOU.

With Love and Creativity,

Laurie