How do you show respect? By paying attention to someone, listening to them, honoring plans, not wasting their time, speaking kindly to them…do you show enough respect to yourself?

Merriam-Webster defines self-love as the regard for one’s own happiness and advantage.
We are our own priorities. If you’re not #1 in your own book, you’ll have a hard time becoming #1 in someone else’s. There is a certain presence you create when you are living whole-heartedly and confident that will attract the right people into your life and keep them there.

There are different ways to practice self-love to show respect to ourselves and build up our confidence, depending on where you feel needs attention.

Through fitness, moving our bodies often shows that we care about how we look and feel. By holding a consistent and balanced exercise routine, there are infinite benefits to our health and happiness. You’ll feel stronger, have more energy, fit better into your clothes, and increase your life span.

Eating fresh and nutrient-dense foods keeps your body healthy by warding off diseases & unwanted weight. It also provides fuel that allows you to do whatever you want to do. And by eating right, you stay satisfied and happy throughout the day.

Most importantly your mindset and self-talk are huge components of respecting yourself. The chatter that goes on in our head can be the biggest hit to our confidence. Be kind to yourself, speak words of affirmation instead of beating yourself up. There is so much power in saying good things to yourself and allowing yourself to talk through challenging situations.
Tell yourself that you love yourself. Don’t allow yourself to nitpick at little slip-ups, they happen, find a positive aspect and run with it. Instead of letting your mind take control with all the things you need to get done, take a breath and take one thing at a time.

When you find yourself in a situation that doesn’t serve you in a positive way, reflect on how you got there. We all have choices that bring us to these places, take charge and decide you don’t want to end up there again. Whether it’s overeating and not feeling comfortable in that bathing suit or not speaking up because you talked yourself out of it…you’re in charge of yourself and your decisions. Respect yourself enough to not allow it to happen again, because you’ve been there and it doesn’t feel good.

I love you and I respect you.