LOVE IS...

Setting the bar high and not playing limbo.

✦ Love - The Audacious Way

Photo by Valeriia Kryshchuk on Unsplash

I’ve always been the independent type, an outlier, and the odd one out, never quite feeling like I fitted in as I built the vast CV of my life. On the surface, that independence looked selfish - my way or the highway.
But the truth is?
It wasn’t self-love. It wasn’t even self-kindness. It was survival mode.

The shift came when I chose myself for the very first time.

I called a divorce on my first marriage - even though I was mummy to a six-year-old and I had no plan B. That decision was terrifying. But I knew if I didn’t put myself first, I’d lose myself completely. And I wasn’t prepared to let that happen.

That was the beginning of my vow to myself.

In Vegas last weekend, I made new vows with Marcus. Vegas was a celebration of us and our love. Our wild, random and totally unexpected us.

But the truth is, our love only works because I learned to love me first. That’s what makes it real, and that’s what makes it last.

Self-love isn’t a spa-day slogan. It’s fierce devotion to You. It’s saying:

• I won’t compromise my truth.

• I won’t stay where my soul shrinks.

• I will only walk through doors that feel like mine.

And here’s what I noticed:

The more I genuinely love and respect myself, the more love and respect I receive. It’s as though you set the standard for your life, how you treat yourself, and how you expect to be treated. It’s setting non-negotiable boundaries.

This week, I’ll go first.

One of the things I love most about me is my tenacity - when I make up my mind, I do the thing. Loudly. This week, I chose love in a big way.

Now it’s your turn.

I dare you to say one thing out loud that you love about yourself. Just one.

Feel the shift. Notice what opens.

Because real love always begins within.

LIFE STANDARDS

Set the bar high.

Don’t play limbo.

Thanks for reading and see you next Thursday.

Big love to your gorgeous self.

Emma ✦