Love starts with self-love

Inspired by Christine Arylo’s Self-Love Tree

Yes I am inspired!

Love is in the air! Being immersed as I already am in the theme of Love these days, I was an instant Yes when Christine invited me to write a blog post about the branch of self love I want to grow this year and come up with my self-love promise (and to invite you to make your own self-love promise; more details at the end of the post).

I want to grow in each of these branches, so I’m going to share something inspirational with you for each one.

I went and found quotes for each branch of the tree, words of wisdom to guide me as I grow in love. And reading through these words helped me come up with my promise.

My self-love promise: focus on the good; take exquisite care of myself; be of loving and sacred service with every thought, word and action — and have fun!

Acceptance

Be willing to have it so. Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.
—William James

Care

We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.
—Swami Vivekananda

Ooh too many good ones, I’m sharing two!

Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.
—Buddha

Trust

Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.
—Golda Meir

Awareness

Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.
—Emily Post

One is definitely not enough here either!

Whether you call it Buddhism or another religion, self-discipline, that’s important. Self-discipline with awareness of consequences.
—Dalai Lama

Compassion and forgiveness

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
—Dalai Lama

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
—Mark Twain

Empowerment

Be of service. Whether you make yourself available to a friend or co-worker, or you make time every month to do volunteer work, there is nothing that harvests more of a feeling of empowerment than being of service to someone in need.
—Gillian Anderson

Honor and respect

The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.
—Socrates

Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners.
—Laurence Sterne

Esteem

Self esteem comes from doing something and accomplishing something.
—Shari Lewis

Expression

A woman whose smile is open and whose expression is glad has a kind of beauty no matter what she wears.
—Anne Roiphe

Pleasure

Close friends contribute to our personal growth. They also contribute to our personal pleasure, making the music sound sweeter, the wine taste richer, the laughter ring louder because they are there.
—Judith Viorst

How do these words land for you? What branch of the tree is going to get your feeding, watering, and nurturing this year? I  invite you to share your self-love promise with me, in the comments.

My self-love promise feels so good, I’m going to say it again!

My self-love promise: focus on the good; take exquisite care of myself; be of loving and sacred service with every thought, word and action — and have fun!

I want to invite you to join me (and Christine, and so many others!) as we blanket the world with love. You can do your own self-love pulse check and get the self-love promise kit right here.