About Self-Love & Why It Changes Everything.

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(The perfect Duo Light Up Case for some "Selfie"-Love by LuMee | The Selfie above has been shot on a very gloomy day and yet it looks like the perfect lighting thanks to my LuMee case!)

I had so much fun writing my post about positive thinking, so I decided to talk about another topic that is pretty important to me and should be to you aswell. Self-love. Sounds pretty selfish, right? I always feel like practicing self-love has this negative stigma. A lot of people see it as egoistic, self-centered or narcissistic. Like a lot of people may see taking a pretty selfie as such too. But we all know it's simply about having fun and capturing happy moments, right? The same goes for self-love. Ironically, it is the complete opposite of being selfish. You need to take care of yourself in order to be a good colleague, girlfriend, mother or whatever role you are currently fulfilling.

Imagine yourself after a week, with loads of work and zero time for yourself. Can you pay full attention to your partner or your boss? I don't think so. Now imagine yourself after an evening you spend pampering yourself. You are way more content, relaxed and happy, right? Can others fell that? OH YES! 

So why do we still feel guilty when we take the night off and choose NOT to go out with friends in order to put on a facemask and meditate. Or why do we feel guilty when we say no to working another late night even though we already worked a lot of over hours that week? Well, I think we are conditioned to always please others, always make them think the best of us, so we can think we are useful and worth it. But guess what, you are equally as worth it when you take much needed time for yourself! Your worthiness doesn't change with the hours you have worked, with the amount of nights-out you share with your friends or how "productive" others think you are being. 

Self-love doesn't even have to take out a huge chunk of your day, but if you want to take a whole day for yourself.. do it! However, you can also start with very small things. The key: See yourself as your best friend! And by "yourself" I mean your physical & mental health. 

Self-love is...

... working out because you have sat on the desk the whole day

... going on holidays, even if you feel like you can't take time off work

... choosing the good food that you know will nourish your body instead of the fast option

... switching off the phone in the evening to read a book instead

... going on walks when you feel overwhelmed

... meditating first thing in the morning for 10 minutes to clear your mind

... cleaning out your apartment (and your mind simultaneously)

... watching Netflix the whole day without even feeling guilty about it
... or simply taking some time off "the real" world and play around with your phone, taking selfies and shots of your food for Instagram.. because: Why not? 

And recently I have found a way to make taking selfies even more fun! I bet you all know the LuMee cases because of the Kardashians, right? Well, I definitely did. BUT they now also have the Duo version, which not only illuminates your face with LEDs on the front of your phone but also puts the pictures you take with the back camera in the right light. And because practising self-love is also treating yourself to a few new things from time to time.. why not treat yourself to a new phone case that is actually useful AND pretty? 

To conclude.. Self-Love is saying NO to things and saying YES to other things. If you listen closely and treat yourself as you would your best friend you will know what you need. Sophie Rosie has another great post about it and Lydia talks about all the small luxuries that can make all the difference. 

And the most important thing that we all like to forget? Talk kindly to yourself.. Listen to how you communicate with yourself. Would you tell your bestie that she is too fat, too lazy, too stupid, or simply not good enough? NO! So why would you tell these things to yourself over and over again? Encourage yourself, be kind and if there is something you need to change... criticize constructively. 

xx Lisa

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