By Alexis Martin of Alfa Life Coaching

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day I wanted to share with you a message that has been on my heart for quite some time…here we go!

I have a confession to make.  I spent most of my life believing that it was impossible for ANYONE to truly love them selves – crazy, right?

I had my logic though. I mean, I saw all of my own flaws, my own weaknesses. I remembered each time I had felt rejected, or not enough, every time I had missed the mark, misspoke, misunderstood, messed up.   I had done a wonderful job of making these unlovable pieces of myself acceptable to the world. I had tricked a few people into loving me, but I could not possibly love myself. I knew the truth.  It was safe to assume this was true for the rest of the world.

This idea was as true to me as the fact that the sky is blue. I never questioned it.  Love was a fragile thing that could easily vanish. Being loved rested fully in the hands of others, dependent on their impression of me.  The only time this belief reared its ugly head in a way that I did not know how to handle was when I would see the undeniable magnificence of others.  Deep sadness would overwhelm me as I thought– they will never know, never understand, never see what is so OBVIOUS to me. Tragic. It was a heavy burden.

And then as a result of some powerful coaching ……I decided to love myself.  

Once I realized that I had created the original belief, it became very clear to me that I was just as capable of creating – and proving – a new truth.  So I decided to love myself. I began creating evidence that it was true.   I treated myself with love.  I practiced seeing myself through the eyes of someone who was IN LOVE with ME.  I took myself out on dates.  I listened to my own thoughts and wisdom.  I went to the gym.  I took time in the morning to look into my own eyes and smile.  I began to heal, and suddenly I was even more loving and open to being truly loved.

Spend some time thinking about the last time you fell in love.  That deep, all consuming, intoxicating, seemingly uncontrollable feeling of being absorbed in the wonder of another person. Ahhhhhh.  I smile just thinking about it.  Suddenly the world seems brighter, the air is fresher, life is a million times more exciting, there is so much to look forward to, so much to delightedly dream about.  Wouldn’t life be delectable if we could store that experience and have a daily dose?

What if we can?  Choose to love yourself TODAY!

I would LOVE to hear what you have to say about your own journey with self love and what loving yourself means to you.  Please post below and share all things self love!   Perhaps you would like to declare what you are willing to commit to in regards to your own self love – inspire others! Let’s talk!

Alexis Martin

Alexis Martin is a professional coach trained at The Coaches Training Institute in Co-Active Coaching. She is the newest addition to the Alfa Life Coaching team. She is a brilliant and positive coach, specializing in co-active coaching, positive psychology and getting to the “heart” of things. Her coaching passion is to “ignite your love affair with your life” To book an intro session with Alexis contact her at coaching@alfalifecoaching.ca

By Alexis Martin

There has been a lot of excited hubbub at Alfa Life Coaching over the last few weeks as Aisha prepares for her TEDxTalk. It’s happening today…right now Get the Live Stream HERE.

Imagine a place where all of the world’s most brilliant, cutting edge, interesting and powerful ideas where collected.  Wouldn’t that be a wonderful, inspiring place to explore?  Drumroll please……..Introducing TED.com! Based on a “passionate belief that ideas have the power to change attitudes, lives and ultimately the world” TED is a “clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other”.

Wow! This inspiredme, so I decided to take some time to really explore the vision behind TED’s slogan  “ideas worth spreading”!

As human beings we are naturally creative.  If you think about it virtually everything you touch, see and use in a day is and was the creative inspiration of another individual.  How magnificent is that?  What TED has created is a way for new ideas to become realities to more people in a sustainable way, faster. So, become part of the discussion! Be a part of the “community of curious souls”!

This blog is starting to feel a bit like an advertisement for TED – but it is a concept that truly excites me!  Every time I watch a TED talk I feel as though I have visited the Metropolitan Museum of Powerful Thought.  For me one of THE best ways to get my creative mind working is to listen to and be inspired by the creativity of others. I feel deeply curious and inspired to take action. Curiosity is a powerful place to be to let the creative juices flow! So with that in mind, my question to you is….

WHAT IS YOUR BIG IDEA?

When do you feel most passionate, most creative? How do you get your creative juices following? Where do you feel it is time for a revolution?  Share your brilliance with the world! Start by posting it below! Let’s start our own clearinghouse for inspiration within the Alfa Life Coaching circle.  Please share with us how you get into the”creativity zone” or an idea you have that you’d love to get some more inspiration around.  We want to KNOW!

And before this blog is over let’s take a moment to celebrate WINNIPEG hosting a TEDx Event and AISHA – one of the world’s most inspired thinkers!!!  You are not going to want to miss this TALK!!!  [insert confetti falling and live band playing here].

Get INSPIRED!