True Romance: Fall In Love With Yourself

As magical as the holiday season can be, it can also bring up a mirage of feelings triggered by holiday party highs, the stresses of added family responsibilities, and those lonely longings that bubble up when a holiday love ballad croons on about romance.

Regardless of where you’re at in the game of love, the one person that has the power to infuse your holiday season with romance and magic is you!  And the one person whose love you should be chasing is your own. So this season, as you surround yourself with loved ones or you make your own merry little holiday, remember to give everyone the best gift ever: fall in love with yourself! Here’s why…
The one person whose love you should ever be seeking is your own.

Love is something you have. It’s a quality you cultivate inside yourself. You must be the source of it first, and then you can project it outwardly onto the people, places, and things you encounter. We’re culturally wired to believe the opposite. We grow up learning that one day our prince will come, and sometimes he does, but even then, he can’t always be sitting there doing the things you need and want him to do—he’s got other princely things to do. When we elect people in our lives to be the source of our love, we fall victim to the ups and downs of settling for whatever they are able to give. When you finally understand that love begins with you, you’ll never feel a shortage of it because you’ll always be able to source your own.
Love attracts love.

Most of us are way more powerful than we give ourselves credit for. We may not be able to control the outside, but we can always influence it. Self-perception is key when it comes to influencing the outside and finding the love we need.
The thoughts you hold about yourself become who you actually are in the world. We’ve all seen this quality shine in other people; an inner charisma, an insatiable charm that radiates from deep within. It’s that thing you cant quite put your finger on but you absolutely love– the “it” factor. There’s a good chance that that type of person is tapped into a strong sense of self-love, not in a self-aggrandizing way but in a genuine “I approve of myself” and “I got my back” kind of way. Self-love is one of the most magnetic qualities out there. So if you’re still looking for love, or looking to rekindle the one you’ve got, love thyself first.
Love yourself like you would want someone to love you.

If you can’t make yourself laugh, compliment yourself, take yourself on adventures, or simply be compassionate to yourself when you’re having a hard day, how do you imagine you’ll ever be able to do that for someone else?!  When we master the intimate relationships within ourselves, the world around us shifts to reflect the person we’ve become. Our radiant sense of self-love signals to the word, and to everyone in it, that we are true unconditional lovers worthy of love. The old saying, “Be the change you want to see in the world” applies just as appropriately to matters of the heart. Fall in love with yourself, and the rest will follow.