Loving yourself - Valentine's Special

Here's what I believe. You can be happy and whole on your own, and lonely and unfulfilled in a relationship. And vice versa.

The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself.

❤️ Are you kind to yourself? ❤️

What's the voice in your head like? Many of us are too harsh and talk to ourselves in a way we would never talk to someone we love. I recommend self-compassion practice to reset the pathways in your brain. A good place to start is with the exercises from Dr Kristen Neff. @neffselfcompassion or search for guided loving-kindness meditations.

❤️ Do you look after yourself? ❤️

Hospitality people spend their work days taking care of other people. It's a beautiful thing. But we all know that too much taking care of others can leave us depleted, drained with nothing left for ourselves. Think though your day. How do you look after yourself? What would it look like to do more? Where could you start?

❤️ Are you honest with yourself? ❤️

Honesty is the foundation of a trusting relationship. So how honest are you being with yourself in your life right now. We can all bury feelings, desires, longings and needs. My own coach once asked me to look in the mirror and have an honest conversation with myself about an issue I was grappling with. The act of looking at myself in the eyes forced an honesty. Like there was nowhere to hide. Talking to the man in the mirror...Try it!

❤️ Do you give yourself what you want?

Loving yourself is taking a stand for what you truly want for yourself in life. No-one else will do this for you. Identifying what you want is the starting point to having better boundaries, asking for what you want and finding out if your needs can be met by your situation.

What's one thing you could do to strengthen your relationship with yourself?