The JOYFul Writer

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What I Tell Myself...Words Matter

I never gave much thought to having a personal mantra, even though before I fall asleep I always mentally whisper the words Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy.

Hmm, I guess that could be considered a mantra. But really, what is a mantra anyway?

From Hindu to Buddhist traditions, mantras have been serving people who wish to go inward

For that is what a mantra is truly about — a deeper dive within.

There are Sanskrit mantras that one can memorize and study. But in all my studies of mantras, and not extensive by any means, the one common thread I sense is a tapping into your own knowing

And this, for me is the key. 

I never heard that four-word line from anyone — Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy. I simply said it one day, repeated it again, and it stuck for me. 

Those are important ideals, words or ways of being…for me. 

To be happy is everything and from that energy, that place, all is possible. 
To be healthy makes life so much more enjoyable and I’ve experienced both sides. 
To be wealthy has a ‘wealth’ of possibilities for me — from relationships to who I am being and to monetary abundance

I could write a dissertation on this one word alone! But we’ll save that for another day. The important thing to note, at least for me though, is that wealth is so much more than “show me the money” moments.

I’ve never sat and learned a mantra, per se, but I know they can be powerful for some and this last year I tapped into one that’s uprooted my foundations. 

It’s so simple yet so profound. 

My new mantra is steal-able easy. It doesn’t replace the old, but it adds a new layer to my life, my self-confidence, my self-esteem, and my very beingness. 

It’s three words. It’s powerful. And it’s life-changing.
I Love Myself.
That’s it.

That’s what I say (internally) at every moment of every day.
I Love Myself.

To love yourself is the very best gift you can give - to you and to others. When you love, you radiate. When you are in love, you shine, you glow.

When you come across a person who’s in love — you’ve seen it — that effortless JOY that adds a spring to that person’s step, a gleam to their eye, a flush to their cheeks, and a warmth that draws you in.

That feeling.
 That vibration.
That BEing-ness is delicious… 
Is contagious… 
And can be your norm…

IS your normal setting, when you start saying and (maybe slowly) start believing these three words.
I Love Myself.

Imagine if you embodied that feeling of being in love each and every moment - and start today by loving yourself.

Imagine having the glow about you, that gleam in your eye, that flush to your cheeks, that spring in your step. 
I Love Myself. 

Everything is brighter when we feel this way, is it not? 

The sky is bluer. The stars seem closer. The mundane isn’t so blah.
Life is more fun.
I Love Myself. 

The little things don’t rub you the wrong way and the big things more easily brush off like lint off of linen pants. 
Life becomes much lighter from this place of 
I Love Myself. 

Since adopting this new mantra, something has shifted for me. 

First, I didn’t fully grasp how much I didn’t love myself until I felt how hard it was to say these three little words… 

Need a bit of help? Feel it’s silly? I understand… I felt silly saying it over and over… but now, now I am forever mumbling those three words to myself, under my breath, in my head.

When I bake.
When I meditate.
When I write.
When I drive.
When I walk.
When I work.
When I kiss my Frenchman…
When I’m falling asleep…

When I wake up, before even opening my eyes...

And the shift in my life…my health…my BEing-ness.
Well, that’s article worthy.

But what’s important to note is how ridiculous I felt at first. How much of a fraud I felt when muttering those words while brushing my teeth, staring into my own eyes in the bathroom mirror. 

And every now and then, I’d feel an opening, a chill, a moment of — something
Belief?
Peace? 
Joy?

I decided to go for it… 30 Days of trying it all-day-long, every day
I Love Myself. 

How hard could it be, right? 

The first few days I did feel ridiculous. 

I did have a voice in my head literally scoff at me and all but laugh. 
And that showed me the power of that critical side that is me — was me. 

Because at some point in repeating the line I Love Myself over and over again throughout the day, there was an opening, an awakening, a space created where that inner voice of negative self-talk stopped.

Where I felt a JOY that was like a belly laugh without the sound.
Where I relaxed in my own body.
Where I stopped striving and spinning and thinking so damn much. 
Where I could stop and sit quietly for a few moments and simply say those three words over and over and over again in my head. 

I Love Myself
I Love Myself
I Love Myself

And in those moments, there were suddenly conversations with myself, negative self-talk, I was no longer willing to have — because I Loved Myself
There was suddenly this ability to push away that sh*thead voice that dissed me way too often, the voice of an older version of me — because I Loved Myself. 

There was a desire to tap into more of what I enjoyed and no longer focus on that which I didn’t love in my life. 

It’s like my entire being started to pulse and vibrate with happy…

With JOY...
With wonder…
With peace…
With more smiles 
And laughter…
Simply because I Loved Myself.

If you’re wondering how I discovered these three little words because I sure as heck wasn’t taught to say them, although I truly now know I was born knowing them… 

We all are…
And then we forget. 

But I found my way back to this knowing that I Love Myself through a short, simple, delightful book. 
Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It, by Kamal Ravikant. And literally, your life does depend on it. 

When you love yourself, all is possible. 
When you love yourself, all becomes easy.
When you love yourself, all the good, the abundance simply flows to you…

Because all is energy and like attracts like. 

So I Love Myself is my new state of being and it’s now something I sink into knowing, believing, and owning. 

I still say it in the mirror each morning, and often spit toothpaste all over the mirror in the process. The perfect way to start the day…for real. 

If this message hit you, resonated with you, or calls to you, grab the book today, right now, that started it all for me. 

It’s an hour read (literally) and has the power to transform your world, as it did mine. Simply grab the e-version of it and make a date with yourself over a cup-o-tea. 

You don’t need ten steps to enlightenment or seven ways of being to get somewhere you currently feel you are not. 

Imagine if it’s as simple and possible as uttering three little words over and over throughout the day… I Love Myself. 

The author brings home just how impactful this mantra was for him and now for me and so many others who’ve read this short-n-sweet book. 

He’s also placed a few exercises within that are amazing ways of being that have shifted my life and the way I show up. 

Grab your copy, give it a go, and imagine how cool your life could be in 30 days or less if you truly stepped into a KNOWING of I Love Myself

When We Need Support…

Now sometimes, for some, getting to that space of believing the words I Love Myself doesn’t come simply, naturally or easily. However, what if you came from a place of knowing you are exactly where you are meant to be at this moment? 

How would that change things for you? 

If you need help pondering this question or seeing the blocks present that are keeping you from truly believing these three most powerful of words, consider hiring a coach.

Someone who speaks in a way you resonate with. Someone who can reflect back to you what you just might be missing, the one thing holding you back from accepting yourself, loving yourself, having all you desire in your life

Whether it’s hiring me when I have openings or another, matters not.

What matters is finding the best person for you at this moment. The individual who cuts to the heart of where you are, what you don’t see clearly or at all, and enables you to bridge the gap quickly.

This can be done in one session, or several, and doesn’t always take years of therapy… Take it from me, one who’s been there, done that. 

While therapy has its place, personally, for me, coaching has enabled me to tap into my own knowing and that’s a powerful place to live from.

Ultimately the goal is simple… come to love yourself. Utterly. Completely. Unconditionally. 

From there your world will shift in magical ways that will simply take your breath away and allow you to fall more in love with your life each and every day.


Disclaimer: The link to Amazon is an affiliate link. The pennies we earn through affiliate commissions help us pay to keep this site live, free content flowing to help support you and Jessica in my corner. A girl can’t be without her right (and left) hand! 

Photo Credit: Danielle MacInnes @dsmacinnes