Vitamin L...

Today is my birthday and I turned 36 years old. Every morning when I wake up, I grab my phone and begin my routine of "waking up." I check the weather, look at my to-do list, play a few turns on Words w/ Friends, and scroll through email. What do these two things have to do with each other? This morning I found an email from my husband with a subject line stating "36 Reasons I Love You - Happy Birthday" and that followed by me starting my day with a smile.

The month of February is known by many as the "month of love." Love is a key nutrient that we all need in our lives. Valentine's Day should not be the only day we choose to express this most wonderful feeling. We need to give and receive love every day. It is vital to our survival and health. And those of us who have gone through training in the holistic health and nutrition world were taught all about this and like to call this "Vitamin L" (the L stands for LOVE).

Getting a daily dose of Vitamin L is essential to living happier, healthier lives. Vitamin L comes in many forms and isn’t just about romantic love between two people. It can be love for ourselves, or a particular practice of self-care. Vitamin L can come in the shape of our partners, our pets, our kids or parents. Love is food for the soul and heart; it nourishes body, mind, and spirit for optimal well being.

Well, this morning I was on the receiving end of Vitamin L with this email. My husband's list made me smile and it was awesome to see what things about me he values. The greatest part about it for me was he thought through my day and knew that this would be the first thing I see in the morning when I woke up. It made me feel good, noticed, thought about, and cared for, and it encouraged me to keep on doing some of the things I do, even when I don't think they matter. So what were those 36 things he loves about me? Yes, I will share...34 of them. Because the other two are for my eyes only :)





He's a great guy and I love him so much!! So how do you get (or give) your daily dose of Vitamin L?



Adapted from this IIN Blog Post

What did you say??

Have you ever fallen into the bad habit of putting yourself down?? I have. I do it all the time. I have incredibly high expectations of myself. I tend to set unrealistic goals of all sizes because I feel like there is no reason why I can't reach them. And then when I don't, I begin to sing a song that sounds a little like this...

sigh....I am such a loser!
I can't get anything done...
Why am I so incapable of accomplishing anything??
ugghhh...I'm such a failure...
My five year old could've gotten this done better than I did (in fact I paid her a dollar to do it!!)
I hate how this outfit looks on me.
This paint job stinks.
I can never cut the grass in lines as straight as I want them (I know...obsessive compulsive...)

OK, you get the picture. The problem I am realizing in this self discovery journey I have been on lately is this... Whenever I talk to myself it is usually negative in some shape or form. Why do I do that? It doesn't help the situation. It makes me feel worse sometimes. It makes me feel defeated as well. I have discovered that I do this so often and I think I do it and not even realize I am sometimes. This is SO bad!!

One thing we need to realize in our lives is that we were fearlessly and wonderfully made. Every single part of us is incredibly loved by our creator God. Shouldn't that be enough to make us love ourselves? To know that God accepts us any way we are, all the time? That He is there to provide us the encouragement we need when we are struggling and feeling worthless? If I were worthless, I wouldn't be here! There is a plan for me! There is a plan for everyone! It is our job to try to uncover that plan and live our lives accordingly.

"OK, but what if I don't believe in God", you say?? Here is what I am learning and a different way to think about it...

What you think, affects how you act.

Think about that for a minute...what you think, affects how you act. I thought about that for a long time today and discovered that for me, that is so true! Maybe one of the reasons I feel stuck sometimes is because I am telling myself I can't do it and won't move forward. I realized as well, that I am hungry for love. My love...towards me. I don't love myself the way I should. I want to be better about that. I am going to flip the tape over, and make a new version of the song that I sing in my head...

You are beautiful!
You are so smart and clever!
Way to go...you worked so hard!
My hair looks great like this!
I am a good mother!
I am an amazing wife!
I have so much to share with and teach others!
I have great design ideas!
I am perfect the way I am!
I really am funny and interesting!

Just writing that list put a feeling of warmth inside of me because I know I am all of those things. It's when I tell myself I'm not, that my world begins to crumble around me and I feel defeated. Hopefully now, I can hear and sing that new song in my head ALL the time.

What negative mental tapes are spinning around in your head??

Try taping over them.