Self-Love Languages

💌Discovering Your Self-Love Language💌

Hello, love!

You’ve probably heard of the 5 love languages before. In a nutshell, they are the ways we give and receive love.

You might give and receive love in different ways. Or maybe you’re a mix of multiple love languages. Personally, I receive love through acts of service (I love when my honey unloads the dishwasher) AND quality time (plan me a dope date night!).

*I want to take a beat here to acknowledge the love languages’ dubious origins and problematic creator. With that in mind, let’s focus on the concept of understanding the myriad of ways we can give and receive love*

If you’re anything like me, you’re so ready to give love to others but have a hard time receiving it from others. And you probably have an even harder time giving love back to yourself. Up until recently, I didn’t even know how to give myself love.

I used to call my Netflix binges a self-care practice. I thought it gave me a chance to relax and turn off my brain. But what I was really doing was avoiding myself. Abandoning my inner child. Ignoring my needs and emotions.

So, I started paying more attention to what my body was asking for, and doing self-care with INTENTION. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a good Netflix binge. Sometimes it’s exactly what my brain and body need. But I also make time for loving myself in the ways that deeply nourish me.

This week, I played on aerial silks while listening to the Frozen soundtrack, bought myself flowers, took an afternoon off for a couch nap, cooked myself dinner and set aside time for a solo date night. Play, gift-giving, quality time and an act of service. Not only am I showing myself love in joyful and fulfilling ways, I’m gaining clarity on how I want to receive love from friends, family and romantic partners. By knowing how to give love to yourself, you can ask for the same from others!

If you’re ready to start a similar practice in your own life, here are some questions to get you thinking:

✨How are your current self-love practices serving you? How are they falling short?

✨How do you like to receive love from others? Can you do some of those things for yourself?

✨What’s one way you can bring more intention to your self-love practices?

Share any insights that come up in the comments below. I’m so excited for you all to embark on this self-love journey!

Xoxo,

Stephanie