Hey everyone...
This week marks an important start for me, the start of my self love summer. It sounds a little silly but having left uni and being thrown into the adult world it's about time I start to really appreciate myself. I have struggled with self love for a long while. Most people who know me would say I am a confident, bubbly person and I don't deny I am, but behind all that I have a lot of worries. I panic daily that I could be really annoying, or I'm being left out for a reason, maybe I'm not cool enough etc etc. I also have a lot of body confidence issues, I have never loved the way I looked in a mirror but I attempt to put up a confident front about it. I am determined to lessen this self-loathing if not abolish it for good. Here's what I plan to do to help me conquer my hatred and if you fancy jumping on the band wagon this will help you to.
1. Exercise.
I am all for being comfortable in your own skin and you should appreciate your body the way it looks, so I am not exercising to lose weight to love my body more. In fact I am going to start exercising because after I feel amazing, like I could conquer the world. Its this great feeling that I want to be part of my life everyday, ok, almost everyday. Also when I was at school I used to be pretty good at long distance running, I wasn't the fittest or fastest but I loved the distance. I want to be able to go for a long distance run again without having to stop every minute. I started couch to 5k Monday and I will keep you all updated on how it goes on my Twitter. Also dancing until the sun comes up counts too, cocktails in hand maybe not.
2. Diet.
I am not dieting as such either. I am trying to eat better, try new things just to expand my mind and feel better. A plate full of veggies will make me feel happier than the chocolate in the long run. However, if I see that chocolate or cake and I fancy it nothing will stop me having it. You only live once and I don't want to be on my death bed regretting not eating cake that one time.
3. Spontaneity
I am one of these people that have to plan every last detail of their day, and it is very restricting. This summer I am going throw out the to do lists (not for everything) and just go do something. Whether it be a cinema trip one evening or booking a trip away, this summer will be spontaneous, well after a double check of the bank balance.
4. Following your dreams.
If there is anything that keeps me beaming it following my dreams. This summer I am going to do more to discover more dreams and to keep my self on the road to achieving current ones. One dream of mine currently is to be best friends with Taylor Swift but thats a bit too far out of reach (unless your reading this Taylor, get in touch).
5. Music.
This summer will be full of sass and feel good songs. I will not actively be listening to anything that does not promote my happiness. Whether its some sassy Beyonce on my runs or some Alt-J to chill out to before bed nothing that makes me sad will pass into my ears (hopefully). This hopefully will keep the pep in my step and keep me motivated.
6. Be Selfish
This one is a little controversial but I don't mean it in a mean way. Just put yourself first when you need to, don't hang out with people you don't want to, if you don't want to go for a drink with that guy from tinder who keeps nagging you, DON'T! Don't do things that bring you down just to make others happy, especially if they aren't (or you aren't) high on the priority list. It isn't worth your precious time. Remember this is SELF love summer, not love everyone else summer. Although if your mum/dad is asking you over to help them out, probably best you don't put yourself first too much, you may need their help sometime soon. This is also great if you are trying to avoid drama, if you don't want drama, walk away.
Is there anything you feel I should do to love myself this summer? Let me know on Twitter or Instagram. Also keep up to date with how my summer is going with the #BOTTSelfLove or #SelfLoveSummer. When I head back to work after summer I will be doing a post on how I feel the summer went and if my little experiment worked and I feel any better about myself.
See you Friday,
Love Katie x
