We Get Better…

Jane Austen wrote these words over two hundred years ago, and they still ring true today. I made this piece to hang in my dressing room to remind my husband and I everyday that we do not always get what we deserve, we get more than we deserve…we get better!

I have yet to finish framing this piece, I will do that later this week. It seems like there is always something else taking up my time which means certain things get shoved to the back burner…usually the things I am doing for myself. I know most of us have that same problem. We are great at meeting the needs of everyone around us and often fail to fulfill our own needs, instead they get moved to the side to make room for more ‘important’ to do items. Sad but true.

I had a friend tell me a great phrase, “what would someone do who loved themselves?” Wow! What a great reminder that we are worthy of love, especially our own. It means making what we want a priority and putting ourselves first even when it makes us uncomfortable or selfish. Self care is not selfish. If we do not take care of us or see the value in doing things for us, then why would other people? Leading by example means for ourselves and others, in that order. Putting our needs at the top of the list does not make us haughty or arrogant, it means WE value ourselves which lays a foundation for others to do the same.

Each and every one of us deserve to be loved, more than we could ever imagine. Loved for who we are, what we value and how we live our lives. Exceptional love means being loved through our flaws, foibles, failures and feelings. It means generously giving affection and attention to someone no matter what. And people are messy, so love is hard. Loving ourselves can be even harder because we know all the bad stuff about ourselves and we have to turn that off to feel important enough to put our to do items at the top of the list.

Let me challenge you today to do one thing for yourself. Get that one off your to do list and soak in how it feels to be valued and important. We must learn to be content being loved more than we deserve especially by ourselves.