Self-love is a journey. A journey of choosing yourself, over and over again. Choosing yourself as many times as it takes. For your entire life.

Sometimes you’re feeling great. You’re on a roll, riding high. It feels like you’ll never go back to the old ways, the days of self-loathing, doubt and insecurity. Unfortunately, that’s not the reality of life. Once you start doing the work, you have to keep on going every single day. It isn’t always a struggle, but consistency will be your best friend. No matter what, you’ll have moments when your shadow self resurfaces.

The difference is that as you grow and evolve, you learn to hold those parts of you with compassion and let them breathe. You acknowledge the energy and help it move out of your body. Then, you wake up to a hopefully better tomorrow. It’s just the way it is, and the more gracefully you learn to ride the wave of life, the happier you will be. Seeing your shadows is, in itself, a generous act of self-love. You are no longer suppressing and ignoring parts of yourself. Accepting all of you is a crucial step towards your healing.

When you feel those negative, sneaking whispers creeping in, you have to choose yourself. Hold yourself higher than the trauma, the programming, the survival mechanisms. Remember who you are and how far you’ve come. And then, you consciously choose to believe in, trust, and love yourself. Over and over again. Every day.

This is how you develop a strong sense of self-love and self-trust. You have your own back. You take care of yourself. You believe in yourself. You choose yourself. No one else can do it for you.

You’ve got this. Sending you love.