Love Yourself First! Friday (LYFF) is part of our Shed Light series collection. We invite women to tell their LYFF stories to inspire and empower others to also fiercely demonstrate self-love in action.  The questions are meant to  “shed light” on various ways our featured Phoenixes are making self-care and intentional living a priority. This week’s motivated and courageous Phoenix is Patrice:

How do you love yourself first?

I try to release the past – letting go of past events. I’ve stopped trying to be perfect, as I am my biggest critic sometimes. Not everything will be perfect, so I just have to let things be the way they are. Not trying to reach perfection doesn’t mean that I’m a failure; it means that I am human. I’m taking things one day at a time so that I’m not rushing my life. That also means, “Let go and let God!”

What actions demonstrate the self-care you provide to your mind, body, and soul? (Exercise, healthy eating, spiritual practices, etc)?

I love listening to music, whatever my mood – everything from jazz to hip-hop! I also love to take walks in the park so that I’m around nature. It’s beautiful!

Is there an obstacle or challenge that you’ve overcome that has led to a deeper love for who you are?

Yes – when one of my closest friends was battling cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It went into remission for a full year, and then it aggressively returned. She died and was only 26 years old.  This really was an eye-opener for me. It made me look within. I stopped focusing on petty things in life and started living life to the fullest. I enjoy it! I started to observe that everyone is living in such a rush. Her death was a realization that learning to unwind and take it all in is important. Learning how to breathe is vital to living a balanced life.

What have you learned from self-love?

I have learned to embrace all of me, my imperfections and faults, too.

 

We asked Patrice to also submit photos demonstrating self-love in action or even photos that radiate the feeling of loving who she is. We created a collage (shown above) of the awesome images she chose to share. Patrice selected these images because to her they represent the importance of having a good time with family.

Thank you for sharing your self-love story, Patrice. You are definitely a Phoenix rising!

 

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If you’d like to share your self-love story with The Collective contact us here.

Love Yourself First! Friday is a weekly self-love series created by The Phoenix Rising Collective. Beautiful, diverse women tell stories of triumph, share personal affirmations, and declare love for their lives! The series is meant to inspire and empower women to fiercely demonstrate self-love in action in order to build and sustain healthy, positive self-esteem.  Be sure to read some of our other inspiring stories.