The Love List – A Powerful Healing Tool

I’ve been giving myself a fun assignment lately, and it’s working so well I want to share it with all of you. It has had a profound effect on my state of energy, which is truly the source of all health – life force energy, chi, prana – whatever you want to call it.

A few weeks ago I found some niggling self-pressure thoughts and noticed I still had remnants of my old tendency to think I should be different tha
I am. Better. Smarter. Know more. Work harder. Be more successful. Ugh. Just saying that makes me feel tired. Which is why those kinds of thoughts are life-force energy thieves. Who wants that?

If you’re going to use all your mind-body mojo to heal from vulvodynia, interstitial cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, or any other similar syndrome (by that I mean involves lots of annoying physical pain and is cloaked in a shroud of mystery in the medical world), you will need today’s assignment. Because a large chunk of the mystery around these syndromes is a deep longing from your body for you to simply love yourself as-is and stop beating yourself up, thinking you should be “better,” or fighting with yourself.

When I was looking around for vulvodynia support and help for interstitial cystitis, I looked everywhere. Doctor’s offices, online vulvodynia support groups, books…and everywhere I seemed to run into more scary news. I ended up getting real support from a surprising place – my own inner wisdom. As I spent time learning to tap into it, I kept hearing the same message: “Love yourself.”

It took me a few years to really learn how to do that. And even now, I am still cleaning up those little corners where I’ve missed a spot. Loving yourself is largely about what you think about yourself, what you say to yourself day in and day out, and whether or not you honor your deep longings.

So here’s the assignment:

Make a giant list of everything you even remotely like about yourself. Include: things you do well, your unique skills and talents, your positive character traits, things you’ve done in the past, and anything at all. Take 20-30 minutes to start this list, and then add 1-5 things to it each day. When you get to the daily part of the assignment, use anything you value or like about yourself from that day. I ended up purchasing an entire journal for this, and I’m having so much fun that I’m challenging myself to find 20 things each day that I like/love about me. It’s getting easier, I’m feeling more in love with myself than ever before, and I have even more energy. (For my friends and family, that might be a scary thought…)

Here’s an excerpt from my love list:

I am a violinist who listened to her heart’s desire, dumped the classical music field after studying it for 20 years, and now plays her own compositions and Irish fiddle.

I am a fantastic coach, who was born to do this work.

I am a writer with a strong individual voice and style.

I am a veritable idea factory.

I am a fantastic listener.

I emit a loving energy that allows people the safety and comfort in which to cry.

I read at the speed of light, digest information quickly, and then share it easily with others.

I am a supportive and loving wife.

There’s so much more, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll stop. But wow, it feels amazing! Give it and try (don’t just take my word for it!) and you will notice your energy lifting. You’ll feel the healing happening in your heart and soul, which means your body is soon to follow.

The final piece of this assignment is to share something off your list with someone. If you want, post yours in the comments space below. It spreads the love to see each other doing this for ourselves. In the end, you are the only one who can truly love and support yourself, so it’s time to create a strong focus on that in our Healthy Life community here.

When you love you, when you support you, everything else will fall into place. You’ll see. When I started doing this assignment myself, a funny thing happened. Everywhere I turned, someone told me how amazing, valuable, or loved I am. Not just people in my inner circle, but people I’ve never even met in person. I’ve gotten one or more complimentary emails a day since implementing this exercise. So really, what are you waiting for? Make your love list today!