I like what she is saying.
Its a particularly North American obsession with getting "better" that is reinforced by media. Oprah and Martha Stewart have made fortunes out it, and there are whole TV channels trying to make us do better and be better.
Argh! I totally agree with this! It seems like we are bombarded from all sides with "how to be better"! Enough! Just this morning I was listening to a podcast and it was an off-topic one about a personal mission statement. And it's just exhausting! All of this obsessing over living a perfectly Conscious and curated lifestyle. It's never enough unless you're living a life with Intention.
It's enough to suck the fun out of anything. Can't we just #netflixandchill or sit the fuck down and drink a cup of coffee without worrying about how we're spending these precious minutes of life and whether or not it's aligned with our #values?! #beyourbestyou #createyourbestlife #killmenow
Along these lines, I stumbled across a rather magical mantra that serves me in times of overwhelm. From a book titled "Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It" (yep, yet another self-improvement book, irony alert). The author was in the dumps and started saying "I love myself I love myself i love myself i love myself", all day everyday, while doing everything. Not between activities, during all activities.
So I tried it. I'm washing dishes, trying to get lunch on the table, and the kids are all screaming bloody murder because they want it NOW, and I just say it to myself "i love myself i love myself". It just calms all the stress in me. I don't know how or what's happening, and it seems too corny to be true, but it works. Like the author in the piece arebelspy posted, magic happens when you accept yourself. And I guess me chanting "I love myself", as corny as it seems, allows me to drop the expectations that are pressuring me, giving me space to just be me, or do what needs to be done, or even do what I want to do.
It works too when I'm lulling around procrastinating, reading one too many forum posts or netflix videos, past the point of actual enjoyment and relaxation. If I start the mantra, i love myself i love myself i love myself, I just magically do what I really want to do. That might be sinking into the relaxation and enjoyment of the forum, or it might be turning off the computer and cleaning the house. Try it!
I think what the author is getting at is this: sometimes these expectations we have on ourselves to be a better you, actually cause us to rebel against ourselves. So just saying "I love me", it melts the resistance. So Future-you says "Don't eat any ice-cream". Now-you says "Fuck you, I'm gonna eat TWO ice creams". Then you say, "That's cool, because I love me. I love myself I love myself. Two ice creams, no ice creams, I love myself". Then now-you says, " :) yeah, I don't really want any ice cream anyway. Love you!"
Whatever now-you decides, if its coming from a place of love rather than resistance and rebellion that's cool. If you're gonna eat the ice cream, own it and enjoy it.