Dear March - Self Love, Positivity & Prioritising

Winter is retreating its cold claws and spring is soon to blossom. By March, we can often feel detached from our enthusiastic, resolution-making January selves. This month can often push us into old habits and patterns that need we need to let go of. February, the month of love and Valentine’s Day, encourages us to express our love towards others around us. However, for us all, it can also serve as a reminder to continue to work towards loving ourselves and practicing self-care and positivity in our daily lives. While it is important to express love to those around us, what enables us to do it best is the love that we have for ourselves.

Self-love is not about selfishness or self-centeredness. It’s about acknowledging yourself as your own well-wisher, encouraging yourself to strive for balance, and recognising your potential and the best ways to utilise it. Self-love allows you to practice kindness towards yourself when you most need it in order to remain fulfilled and focused. With all the pressures of our contemporary digital existence, self-care and self-love becomes key to allowing us to approach things with positivity and balance.

Here are some positive reminders to keep you on track with your resolutions throughout the month of March and through the rest of 2019!

Don’t compare yourself to others.

Move away from comparing your journey. Yours is a unique journey that will have its own ways of getting you where you need to reach. Just keep putting in the hard work, remaining focused, and keeping a positive outlook.

Embrace your reality, good and bad.

Part of keeping a positive attitude is the acknowledgment of a challenge for what it presents but also the recognition of what it can teach you and help to improve. In that spirit, always embrace difficulty and challenge as important moments in your journey that will only make you better at all that you do in the future.

Be grateful.

It’s so important for us to count our blessings and remind ourselves of all that builds us up and keeps us striding forward fearlessly. Gratitude will allow you to be reminded of your internal and external strengths in times when self-doubt, fear, and anxiety about the uncertain might creep in.

Take it one day at a time.

We can often lose sight of how we invest our time in multiple endeavours, or get overwhelmed when we have a lot of work ahead of us. In such moments, it’s essential that we take it one day at a time. Not only will it help you remain focused on the goals for that day, but also allow you to realise the potential of each day and the way in which you can invest your time productively to do things you wish to accomplish.

Love and accept others to be able to love and accept yourself.

Practice love and acceptance in your relationships and you’ll see a growing sense of love and acceptance towards yourself. Accept your flaws for what they are but don’t discount your potential because of them. It is key that we practice kindness with those around us and open ourselves to an attitude that is more accepting and positive than negative and narrow.

Loneliness is a natural feeling.

It can often disrupt our state of mind and leave us feeling alienated and isolated. In these moments of loneliness, practice utilising and enjoying your own company. Meditate, read a book, or simply cater to your thoughts with some good music —  either way, learn to enjoy oneness with yourself and appreciate the quieter moments for the opportunities of peacefulness, introspection, and reflection that they bring.

Do not shy away from vulnerability.

As humans, our natures are inherently flawed and prone to making mistakes. Accept your mistakes as opportunities for you to grow and learn.

Take responsibility of your life.

Don’t depend on external materials or people to be the reason or source of your happiness. Know that fulfillment comes from within and from the way you approach the world around you. If you make the conscious effort to maintain a positive outlook and attitude, you’ll exude and invite much of the same energy.

Agree to disagree.

Accept disagreement as an end to an argument and respect diverse opinions and views. Everyone may not be of the same opinion as you and the best you can do is to gather multiple perspectives for your own learning and knowledge, rather than for falsification or winning an argument.

Command your thoughts.

Whenever you’re stuck in moments of overthinking or fear caused by anticipation, pause and take a deep breath. Regear your thought process and allow yourself to understand the futility of worrying about something that is not in your control. Deal with problems and situations as and when they come to you instead of worrying throughout their buildup.