Self-Love, A Touchstone To Rock A Life You Love


By Juliette Taylor I


don’t care who you talk to or who you ask, if it’s a ‘she’, there’s a chasm between who she sees herself as and who she wants to see herself as. We, women (yes, I’m including myself in this de- scription, because I was once like that) are riddled with self-doubt, self-imposed limitations, and dare I say even self-hatred. Having raised both girls and a boy, I can say that I noticed it very clearly and distinctly by middle school. I can go on and on about mass media, the role of women in society, the difference in reactions to an outspoken and aggressive boy and the same behavior in a girl. But I won’t, you can take a feminist course for that. What I want to focus in on is shifting patterns of self-loathing, self-limitations, and self-scrutiny into one of self-love, and as Gala an online blogger calls it, radical self-love.


She puts it so succinctly with her Kiwi accented words when she describes how she came about developing her notion of radical self-love.


“…More to the point, there was a huge disconnect between


how women saw themselves and how they wanted to see them- selves. I had recently gone through a massive personal transforma- tion, and was excited to share what I knew. I called it radical self love, and the rest is history!”


You can shift gears from whatever negative thought you use to one of unconditional revolutionary self-love. I did it! And so can you. Let me tell you the secret…it’s change and action.


Change and action require you to do only two things, and that


is, fi rstly, to think of yourself as a Goddess- gorgeous, powerful, and magical. If it’s easier, you can even visualize yourself as a fabulous luxurious pair of Louboutins, like I do. Do it. Do it now. Seriously. Stop reading for a minute and do it. And then come back to me because we have a lot more dishing to do here. I want you to love yourself like something precious, rare, and absolutely exqui- site. Can you do that?


Then take the very next step, swiftly, so that your inner gremlin


doesn’t catch up to you just yet. What’s step two? Take immediate action on the change you want to see in yourself. Take action like a rebel, or a warrior, or I’ll add a vixen because these badass dames know how to make it happen for themselves. It’s like Thelma and Louise, they have the gall to go balls to the wall. Action. This is the difference between the sexes. Women are not taught to take action, while men are. We don’t demand a raise, we ask, we don’t stand in front of the room and speak out in meetings, we wait and offer suggestions. Stop. Rewind the messaging. And restart taking action. What is it you want to do? What is it your body is trying to tell you when you don’t feel well? Ask your body what it wants to tell you in order to start healing. Hint: it’s usually something going on in your outer life. You may not want to hear it because it may be radical and it will require change. What radical change needs to happen in your inner environment to then be illustrated in your outer envi- ronment? You know. Can you speak it? Will you act on it?


I just love how Gala declares a manifesto for you to follow.


She declares: “You are destined for more than a life of corporate cubicle


hell. You are more than just a worker bee, a mother, a wife or a girlfriend. You can be and do whatever you want. There are a mil- lion possible avenues for you to saunter down, and the only way to discover that for yourself is to put on your best shoes and just start walking.”


So when you’re ready to give in…release:


• All the pain you’ve felt since you were told not to ask for what you want when you asked for the Barbie your mom refused to buy for you


• All the ideas in your head that say you’re not good enough yet and keep you from pushing for the next level in every- thing you do


• All the lack of inspiration you feel toward what you have now, in your business and in your relationships, making life feel hollow, instead of passion-fi lled


24 Essential Living Maine ~ July/August 2015


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