Love yourself. Most self help programs will tell you that’s the first step to a happy life. I’ve always been confused by that. What does loving yourself even mean? Being an egomaniac? Sitting in front of a mirror admiring yourself all day? Or eating chocolates and laying around on the couch? While the latter may be fun in small doses, none of it has to do with actually loving yourself.
I’ve learned that loving yourself means doing things that are best for your long term happiness. It’s doing the things that help you achieve your goals and live the life of your dreams. And it’s taking care of your physical and mental health so you can enjoy your dreams for as long as possible.
So a major component of loving yourself is keeping yourself healthy. The good news is that food, the fuel our systems run on, is completely up to us! It’s interesting that eating healthy sounds like a punishment to a lot of people. This may have originated in childhood via threats from well-meaning parents wanting you to eat your vegetables. But guess what?!? They wanted you to eat the veggies because they love you. They want health for you. Hmmm, see how that works? What if instead of feeling like a rebellious child when you’re around healthy food, you loved yourself enough to have some? What if you thought of it as a wonderful gift to give your body so you can live the life of your dreams? Try thinking to yourself, “Awesome – I needed some spinach today so my brain can __” (fill in the blank).
So food IS love! Give yourself some love today – have some broccoli! Or some strawberries! Ok, maybe in honor of Valentines Day they can be dark chocolate covered strawberries…
