Hi Everyone!
Self love is a tricky subject isn’t it. For some it may come across as arrogant, but it’s actually really healthy to love yourself.
I have two little girls who love to copy my every move and so I would never want to portray any self confidence issues on to them. I would never want them to grow up worrying about not being good enough because they are perfect just the way they are.
I’m definitely not as confident as I would like to be but I try every single day to become more and more confident.
Something that has helped me over the past couple of years is chatting on Instagram stories. I used to be so nervous but now I will rock up in the mornings still sporting yesterday’s makeup and do you know what? I feel good about it. This is me, and this is real – take it or leave it. Do I love a filter? Yes? Will I also video myself in my raw unfiltered state? Also yes! Have I ever made a tit out of myself on camera? Erm pretty much every day but that is me. I also started using tik tok when we went into lockdown and felt much more comfortable being silly on there as I knew everyone else was too.
This is something that an online dating site – WeLoveDates wants people to shout about from the rooftops. It’s okay to be the unfiltered version of you. It’s okay to love yourself and it’s okay to be comfortable in your own skin.
All of these things apply to everyone, whether you are married, dating or single. We love dates very kindly sent me out some gorgeous confidence boosting goodies and challenged me to think about what makes me love myself.
It’s actually much harder to think about what I love about myself. We live in a world that is so negative and we often put ourselves down or don’t give ourselves enough credit.
What I do love about myself is;
My strength – Not muscle strength cos although I’m a big girl, I’m weak as hell but I have been through SO much. So much loss and grief and pain and yet here I am still standing. I have buried my own child although it felt like I couldn’t live another moment, I did and I have had two more beautiful children since. I know that by sharing my grief journey I have helped other people and although I wish we had met through better circumstances, it’s really brought me close to so many people and we just understand how the other is feeling.
I am brave. Not for the reasons I mentioned above but I feel like I’ve really put myself out there joining the blogging and influencing community. I have always been shy and this has really pushed me well out of my comfort zone. It’s easy to love products but it’s harder to actually talk about them and in front of an audience too, well an online audience. Never in a million years did I think I’d be able to post photos in lingerie and post pictures of my body online but I felt very brave for doing it.
I am still learning to love my body. I am a mother. I have carried and birthed three babies at full term in the space of 4 years and it has really taken its toll on my body. I am absolutely covered in stretch marks, some of which I had before kids and most of them after but now they are my tiger stripes. I used to be a size 14 before I had children and now I’m a size 18 although can sometimes fit in smaller sizes. I used to think that the number on my clothes was everything. It’s really not.. if I feel good in something I don’t care what size it is anymore. No more eating myself up over a number. A number that isn’t even the same in all of my clothing. Some of my leggings are a 14-16, I could never ever fit in a 14 on top as it would not fit me. And I’m not about struggling to zip or button things up. I’ve done stupid diets, joined the gym, gave up going to the gym, drank skinny tea and I’m definitely happier now than I was then. I try to feed myself healthier foods but then I snack at night. I’m trying to up my water intake and I do feel better for it.
I’ve never really felt like I’ve fitted in with everyone else whether that be at school or college or at work and I feel totally different about it now. Maybe I am unique, maybe I wasn’t supposed to fit in, am I friends with all of these people who were in those groups? No I’m not and that’s okay. I have my own circle of people to love and I know that they love me too.
So whether you’re looking for love perhaps through a free dating site, in a loving relationship or enjoying your own company right now. Think about the things that make you proud to be you and what you love about yourself. Maybe you could compile your own self confidence boosting list.
Something to look at when you might be having a down day. Or something to boost you even more on a good day. You can also get involved in this campaign using the hashtag #WeLoveReal
This is a sponsored post although all words and thoughts are my own.
Laura x