The Gift of Self Love – Blogmas Day 4

Some gifts can’t be wrapped and those are some of the best ones.

When I put on my schedule that I was going to write this, I didn’t know 2 things. 1 thing I didn’t realize is that it would fall on my worst self-esteem week I’ve had in ages and the second thing is that I didn’t know I’d be too busy to write and post it on the correct day.

So now I am here at noon on 12/5 struggling to find nice things to say about myself in a post that is supposed to be about self-love. However, I think this makes the post all the more authentic about how important self-love actually is and why it truly is the greatest gift. Self-love is not only the gift of accepting and loving yourself despite problems and struggles, it is also the gift of holding space for yourself and having patience which really sums up the energy I’ve needed to provide myself this weekend.

So how does one give themselves the gift of self-love for the holidays? There are actually a lot of self-love gifts you can give yourself that are both tangible and intangible. So let’s start with the tangible list.

On my list of “tangible gifts you can give yourself to express self-love” we have the following!:

• Your favorite food, snack, treat, or beverage. For me, food and body image have been touchy for me so giving myself foods that make me happy is something I would consider a self-love gift because I am not letting my body anxieties outweigh my desire to honor myself for the holidays.
• New clothes or makeup. I think a large part of self-love is making your outside self reflect your inside beauty. So treating yourself to items that make you feel externally beautiful is important.
• Health or fitness equipment, products, or materials. Giving yourself anything from a new yoga mat to essential oils to workout clothes is a great way to show yourself you care about taking care of your mind and body which are both equal parts of self-love.

Let’s move onto the list of intangible self-love gifts:

• Patience. The hardest one to give but also the most important is the gift of patience. Understanding that Rome wasn’t built in a day (or ever according to some people on Tik Tok, but that’s besides the point) and you can’t expect yourself to be come the perfect version of yourself over night. It takes a lot of work and a lot of patience.
• Healthy boundaries. Creating healthy boundaries is an intense and difficult act of self-love. It’s saying no to people you love or saying “I demand respect” loud and clear even if it causes friction. It is turning down plans you don’t want to do or saying you just want to spend time alone. It’s knowing what you need to become your best self and then going out and getting it.
• Room to fail. Giving yourself room to fail like I have this weekend is super important because it is a reminder that setbacks aren’t detrimental and all a part of the process towards true self-love.

How will you be infusing additional self-love into your life this holiday season?

Be back tonight with day 5!

~Jess