Welcome to the month of love, where everyone is sharing the love they have for others in the way of gifts, words of expression or acts of kindness. But we must remember in the middle showing others how much we love them, we must also take care of ourselves as well. What good is it proving to someone else how much you love them if you don’t show your mental, spiritual and physical self how much you care for you, who will. Also at the end of all that love sharing and gift giving, trust me you will be exhausted and high key upset you didn’t take care of you. Or you’ll be wondering why hasn’t anyone else taken time to take care of you, well they’re not obligated to. It’s in your best interest to handle your well being. With all that being said, here are a few steps I take to take care of myself before I share my love with others.
MENTALLY: I’m a big lover and gift giver, so when I fee like its not being reciprocated my feelings get hurt big time. With that I’ve learned that everyone shows love in different ways, I’m a gift giver + a touchy hugging person to those I’m close to. So how I prepare mentally, is by reminding myself that there are different love languages and the way I show love may not be the same as the next person. For a long time I suffered with this, I thought maybe I wasn’t good enough for that person. These feelings can apply to any type of relationship; friendship, family life or a romantic relationship. With feeling this way it had me over compensating my love to others trying to figure out why they didn’t love me the same way. This is called doing way too much, be careful with this because some people will start to use you for thing. So remember continue being yourself and that just because someone doesn’t show the same amount of love you do, it does not mean they love you any less.
SPIRITUALLY: Preparing yourself spiritually does not mean praying to God or who ever you believe in to show you the perfect gift or way to show love to your loved ones, but a way for you to grow closer to God. In some ways to me praying helps fill a void that is there. Filling that void helps with being mentally prepared for the other love languages. This part was short but trust me praying helps.
PHYSICALLY: Prepping yourself physically is super important as well. You need to feel your best at all times. Taking a day for your self care routine, doing things that you love to help you relax or just working out are all things that can help us feel at our best. Feeling your best, is the best way to ensure that you give love the best way possible. For one nobody likes smelly hugs.
To sum up, always remember to take care of you before you attempt to help, love or care for someone else. Always remember to monitor you mental well being, and be observant of other peoples love languages. Always carve out time in your day to pray and be thankful for all you have and what you could be. Lastly always take care of your personal needs whether it be physical or your nagging to do list, be sure to love you first.
