Incorporating Self-Love in our lives
“Good things happen to those who hustle.”
Now, how many times have we heard this exact phrase and derived a humongous sense of motivation to keep striving for more? I will be honest – as a Gen-Z who’s probably got another five decades of ambition left within her – the pressure of hustle culture has gotten to me more times than I can count. It was through several burn-outs and moments of self-reflection, that we've learned as a generation that we were missing the most important element of life. The practice of Self-Love.
As much as some of us love basking in the sun and indulging in the occasional bites of cheesecakes, we must also not forget that working out and mindful eating are equally important factors when practicing Self-Love. It is a phenomenon that is deeply personal and subjective to each person, so while we have spoken about Self-Love from the lens of Ayurveda, today we decided to ask our dearest #AmrutamFamily members about their ideas of Self-Love!
Also read: What does Ayurveda say about Self-Love?
It's the little things that matter
“I didn’t realize or emphasize enough on Self-Love in my life until my mid-20s,” says Dr Shilpa Thengil, an Ayurveda Doctor and Expert at Amrutam.Global. For Shilpa, Self-Love is so much more than what we read on social media, it is rather a journey of putting oneself first, simply because no one can take care of your body and soul except you. “The awareness of this sacred thought is essentially the beginning of the Self-Love journey,” Shilpa explains, “You don’t have to do pointless hours of meditation or read self-help books, you can rather focus on the little changes to lead a happier and content life, including drinking enough water!”
True that! It is the little things that truly impact our lives! But in a world where everyone is trying to compete with each other, how do we incorporate this simple idea in our lives?
Also read: Rediscovering Ayurveda x Dr Shilpa Thengil
To answer this question, Dr Surabhi Pathak, Ayurveda Doctor and our Expert at Amrutam.Global, takes us through her views on Self-Love.
“In today’s world, we often get too hard on ourselves in order to be part of the rate-race. For me, Self-Love is the quality time that you spend with your ‘inner-self’. Giving importance to yourself first, prioritizing your good thoughts and actions, and indulging in things you enjoy doing. It could be anything as long as it gives you a chance to spend time with yourself and fills you with contentment. Self-Love, for me, is also about respecting yourself and listening to your body, mind, and soul and accepting yourself for the way you are.”
Acceptance is key
While acceptance is truly the key to moving forward, we find ourselves bound with certain sets of self-imposed limitations that restrict us from exploring everything that’s out there. Our apprehensions are so strong sometimes that we do not realize the importance of things we are missing out on. In line with this thought, Kshitija Sarda, Manager - New Initiatives & Partnerships, GigIndia shares her thoughts with us.
Also read: Amrutam Nari x Kshitja Sarda
“Self-love, according to me is the freedom we give ourselves to explore, experiment and experience. Personally, I am not sure if I have reached a stage where I prioritize self-love over anything else, but I have definitely been more aware of how to welcome these different emotions,” says Kshitija. For someone who began her entrepreneurial journey as young as she did, Kshitija has been an inspiration for many across the country and has successfully curated several events and community campaigns as part of her work. She goes on, “Practicing self-love has been a conscious effort I have made for the past few months. And I have realized it's a high-impact choice which makes a lot of other things in life easy to deal with.”
There’s this beautiful dialogue from the movie Dear Zindagi that roughly translates to: “You take up the difficult path because you think that’s what you need to do to achieve something important. But why? Why can’t you choose the easier path? Especially when you are not ready to face the difficulties!”
This dialogue has impacted a lot of us so deeply because we were so engrossed in achieving the next best thing that we forgot how much we were hurting ourselves, especially our mental health.
Also read: Rediscovering Self with Amrutam
Nurturing our mental health
Our mental health podcast Rediscovering Self with Amrutam addresses the daily ramblings of our minds and helps us detangle our thoughts. We asked our host Preethi Parathasarathy, also known as @peppytravelgirl, what her idea of Self-Love was:
“Simply put, to me, Self-Love is the ability to be kind to myself. To listen to my mind and body and stay in tune with my emotions, to take breaks when needed, to carve out time away from devices. To pamper myself on occasion, but to also be able to take difficult decisions that might seem painful, but work better for my mental health. To be able to listen to my gut and do exactly what it says. To seek help when I feel out of balance. Self-Love, to me, is taking care of my mind and body and putting my physical and mental health first, and at the same level.”
Also read: Amrutam Nari x Aafreen Ansari
Kindness, discipline and freedom are so crucial in allowing us to reach a balanced state. But what after that? Yes, we practice gratitude at this instant. Agnim Gupta, Principal: Tech & Growth, Amrutam, explains the act of expressing gratitude as part of his Self-Love journey very beautifully. “I guess for me the idea of Self-Love is much about being thankful and grateful to the universe for whatever I’m able to experience on every day basis. Not all days can be happy and you have all the right to be annoyed with the universe too but I guess it’s between you and the universe! Nothing else matters and I guess nothing else should.”
Expressing gratitude
Agnim goes on, “While we can predict our future but we can only truly understand our journey when we look back and how things have shaped beyond our expectations. Being thankful to the universe that it gave you enough courage and patience to take that bet which you wouldn’t dare take today in your right senses.”
Also read: Extending Gratitude: Words of Kindness from #AmrutamFamily
See? Self-Love is so distinct but so wholesome when viewed for its entirety! We would like to end this article with this beautiful poem on Self-Love by Isha Lall, Nutritionist and Master Reiki Healer:
Self-Love is not selfish, it is self-worthy
Self-Love isn't demanding, it is caring
Self-Love isn't judgemental, it is forgiving
Self-Love is not being obsessed with yourself, but one that aligns with your well-being
Self-Love isn't running away from problems, it is owning one's actions and being true to oneself
Self-Love isn't choking, it is the unbridled expression of emotions
Self-Love is not toxic, it is pure healing
Self-Love is an endless journey, not a one-time marathon.
We hope you choose Self-Love every day and practice it with utmost devotion because you deserve it all!
