If you’re a busy, stressed out, overwhelmed mom, it’s time to jump on the self-love bandwagon.

If you’re a happy, well-adjusted (still busy, of course) mom who takes the time to make yourself a priority, I am pretty sure you still need to jump on the self-love bandwagon.

I’ll dive deeper in a minute but the bottom line is this:

True, lasting change (the kind that helps you achieve the health and wellness that you desire and that may have eluded you until now) stems from a place of love.

Our current state of the world means that we are in a time of turmoil and stress, for sure.

And that means that prioritizing our self-care and our self-love has never been more important.

Caring for yourself is an act of love.

If you struggle to make your workouts, or your sleep, or your nutrition, a priority, what you need to remember is this: loving yourself well means you can love your family even better than you currently do.

Sometimes moms need that reminder, right? I get it.

Taking time for your self-care and self-love can feel selfish… until you begin to understand how it’s quite the opposite!

You take care of you, because you know that when you do, you are more:

• Patient.
• Compassionate.
• Understanding.
• Forgiving.
• Flexible.
• Energized to take on all that your life throws at you.
• And have a better sense of humor when things go sideways! (Because we all know, they’re gonna go sideways at some point. Likely very soon.)

So, let’s take just a moment and look at what doesn’t work when it comes to making lasting change, especially related to your fitness and nutrition.

True change does not come as a result of anger, disappointment, and frustration.

Yes, you may be prompted to start a “diet” (the dreaded “d” word, check out this post on why I am not a fan), because you’re frustrated at the fact that you can’t button your pants, or how winded you get trying to chase your toddler across the playground.

That disappointment may drive you to start.

But sticking with great habits? Actually doing the things you know you want to do to take care of yourself?

That will only come from a place of love.

Let’s ignore you for just a moment and get really logical, okay?

How do you train a puppy? Do you train a puppy by yelling at it and telling it how disappointed you are when it has an accident on the carpet? You can. But more likely, that puppy is just going to learn to be afraid of you.

If you love on that puppy, and it knows you adore it, and it knows it can count on you for tons of positive reinforcement like treats and snuggles, that puppy is going to want those treats and snuggles… and it’s going to learn that “when I potty outside, I get treats and snuggles,” and it’s going to want to potty outside!

And when you train it this way, and it does have an accident, you gently correct, but never stop loving.

See where I’m coming from?

So how does this apply to you?

Your mission is to feel good. Your mission is truly self-love.

Check out a post I did here on making feeling good the pursuit, to dive a bit deeper on this idea, but I think you know where I’m going with this.

If you want to change your habits surrounding your fitness and nutrition, it has to be an act of love

Why do you want to work out? Because you love your body and you know that doing so makes it stronger and healthier.

Why do you want to eat well? Because you love your body and you know that fueling it well gives you lasting energy, clean and clear skin, longevity… and maybe even help you attain a weight that makes you feel healthy and lean and strong.

And when you have a misstep, and you eat more than you intended or miss a workout? This is a big one here…

You forgive yourself. You tell yourself you’re doing your best, and you’ll get back on track.

And for the record? I’ll be brutally honest here with you. I understand this now, because I was so horribly bad at it for the better part of my life.

This is the opposite of what I did for years and years, and I’m betting some of you can relate. When I had a misstep, it was game over. One Oreo became 15 because I was a loser and was never going to get my act together. One missed workout became a week off because I was (or so I told myself) unmotivated and incapable of sticking with anything.

Guess what? When I changed that language, and started working to be kinder and gentler with myself, the change became easier!

Change the language, change the love, see the change occur!

Does this make sense? I’m here to tell you- this stuff is a practice! It’s a mindset shift you may have to make a thousand times before it becomes natural! But it’s worth it, and you are worth it!

All of this ties into how we approach nutrition and fitness in The Love Strong Mom Formula, a wellness course we run twice a year. You can learn more here, and let me know if you’d like us to keep you posted on our next round

And in the meantime, if you’re on Pinterest, hop over to our Love Strong Mom Reminders board, or Mindset Tips for Moms to help you stay really connected with how to love on you, just like you prioritize loving on your people!

This post is part of what I call our Mom Confidence Campaign. I am devoted to doing everything I can to help you remember your value, your worth, and your beauty- even when you’re not feeling it. If you’d like to stay in the loop and never miss a Mom Confidence post, click below and I’ll see to it! 🙂

xo,

Cori