Ask Others, Trust Yourself by Elisa Balabram

Today as a self-love practice, play! What does play mean to you? Who would you like to play with… your children, your nephews and nieces, your spouse, your friends, your pet? If you are spending the day by yourself, how can you have fun today on your own? Going to the movies; Dancing to songs you love; Singing; Painting; Simply relaxing and being quiet; Riding a bike; Ice skating; Running/Walking; Playing cards; or anything else that brings you joy.

Make a point today to connect and to spend some time present and to play, without checking emails, or texts, simply being present and playing.

And NO, Facebook games like Candy Crush, FarmVille, SongPop, etc, or apps such as Draw Something, DO NOT count!

Add fun and joy to your day. Feel free to post how you chose to play today.

How often do you speak to yourself in a hurtful way? Do you ever stop yourself and make an effort to change your thought pattern? I’m practicing doing so, and I want to recommend that for today’s self-love practice you do the same.

I attended the 6-week Oprah’s Life Class with Brené Brown, in which she discussed a portion of her book: The Gifts of Imperfection and she coached the attendees in creating a journal. Right before the Thanksgiving week, Brené asked the students to only talk to themselves as if they were talking to their best friends.

I like that idea. We are usually our worse critics.

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Yesterday I shared an image of the flowers I bought to celebrate myself, you, and the 30-day self-love challenge. I meant to only buy white roses for the positive vibration and energy it could bring to my place, but when I saw the purple flowers, I was drawn to them, and couldn’t resist.

This morning when I passed by the arrangement I had created, I noticed that within some of the purple flowers, little white flowers were blossoming! You can see the photo within this post. I had no idea that this could happen, and I was pleasantly surprised by this miracle. For today’s self-love practice, stay in the moment, and pay attention to the miracles that may happen around you throughout the day.

Here are some small miracles that happen to me at times, and I am deeply grateful when they do:

• When I run to get to the subway, only for the door to close in front of me, and then the conductor sees me and opens the door for a few seconds, allowing me to get in.
• When a friend, whom I haven’t heard from in a while, calls or sends an email.

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I bought flowers to celebrate the completion of the 30-Day Self-Love challenge!

How are you going to celebrate? Today, choose one of your favorite activities and do it, or choose a treat and buy it for yourself.

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Acknowledge that You Are the Source:

Congratulations on making to day 30 of the self-love challenge! How awesome that you joined me on this journey of self-love. The journey will always continue, as there is so much we can do for ourselves.

Many of the previous 29 self-love challenges I posted, asked you to go within and choose what you needed in each moment, what you most wanted, what you were feeling, or what you could do as a self-love practice. Today’s self-love challenge is for you to go deeper in the knowing that you are the source. You have the answers, the light and the power within yourself to pursue your dreams, to experience joy, to love yourself fully, truthfully and deeply, to create, and to show up authentically and creatively daily.

Invest in Yourself

Today, go back to the challenges in which you had to reflect on your soul’s deepest desires, on your priorities in life, and on your needs and feelings. How can you take a step further? What are the skills, knowledge, and support you still need to make it happen?

The self-love challenge today is for you to invest in yourself. It does not have to be a huge investment, unless that’s what you need at this time. It could be simply buying a book, taking a course to enhance your skills, signing up for therapy, working with a coach,  attending MeetUp events, joining a mastermind program, attending a webinar, and/or hiring someone who can help you achieve your purpose.

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Catherine Storing. Photo Courtesy of Catherine Storing, Confidence Building Coach.

Dress Up!

Today’s self-love challenge is for you to celebrate yourself by dressing up, even if you are working from home.

Make today your day, and wear your favorite outfit, a fancy scarf, a special suit and/or tie, a dress, high heels, or simply wear the jewelry you only wear on really special occasions. If anyone asks why you dressed up, you can say that you felt like it, or you could say that you are celebrating yourself today.  ; )

Feel free to post photos of you dressed up on Facebook, or simply leave a comment here and let us know how you accomplished today’s challenge.

Have fun with it!

Take One Step Today

What have you been thinking about doing for yourself for a while but there is never enough time, money, or simply it is never the perfect timing? Did you receive an answer from yesterday’s challenge that is aligned with what you’ve been wanting to pursue?  How about you take one step towards your dream, even if it is a small step?

I first came up with the idea of the 30-day self-love challenge in the beginning of July. But I kept postponing the launch of it, waiting for the perfect time, thinking about the best way to do it, holding on until I finished editing the fiction story I wrote, hoping to come up with a plan, and ultimately, I confess, procrastinating.

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Connect with Your Soul’s Deepest Desire:

We are getting closer to the end of the 30-day challenge and there is still so much that we can talk about and do for ourselves on a daily basis. I will probably continue posting “self-love tip of the day”, as it is my ongoing commitment to practice it daily and to encourage you to do the same.

Through this journey of self-love, a big part of it is to connect with our heart space, and to open ourselves to the inspiration and intuition that is available when we are able to quiet our minds.

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Read a Passage from Your Favorite Book:

Today’s self-love challenge is simple. Choose one book among your favorite ones and read a passage that you love. In my opinion, reading a book that uplifts me feels like eating soul food. 😉

Take at least fifteen minutes off to read something that inspires you, let go of any worries, and enjoy the book. Let the words sink in and move you. If you are currently reading a great book that you can’t put down, simply keep reading it, and make sure to allow the written word to touch your heart.