Today is Day 17 of my 31 Days of Self-Love posts to celebrate Self-Love Month with suggestions for jump-starting your own self-love and joining The Self-Love Movement™.

I recently asked some experts how they show themselves love and included some in a previous post, to give you more ideas that you can use for yourself. Now I’ve got some more suggestions! I’m delighted to have some wonderful ones to share with you. By pampering your mind, body and spirit, you can build strong self-love, which is a magnet for loving things and people into your world. Here’s what they had to say:

Having almost died at age 32 from chronic ulcerative colitis, I learned quickly that self-love was the cure.  Every day for the last 10 years I have spent at least 15 minutes every morning meditating, saying affirmations, stretching and deciding what my intentions will be for the day. This starts my day off focusing on me and keeps me going feeling good for the rest of the day. Chris Sopa, Chris Sopa International, Inc.

I show myself love by feeding myself. I am a therapist and coach who works with women helping them to heal their relationship with learn to love their bodies.  Feeding yourself with compassion and awareness is one of the best ways you can show yourself love.  Food is one of the most primary forms of love (think about when you are a baby – one of the main ways we are shown love is through being fed by our caregivers).  Dieting, deprivation, and denial of the basic right to feed yourself is such a form of self-hatred.  Eating what we want, when we want it, in amounts that respect our hunger and our bodies needs is a basic, yet incredible act of self love.  Rebecca Clegg, LPC

As somebody who works for themselves, my work hours extend well past 8 hours a day. In fact, there is rarely a day that goes by when I’m not putting in at least 12 to 14 hours of work! I’m not a robot, so I always find time to love myself and ease my workdays with the following daily?routine: work, watch youtube clips of my favorite singers, as well as subscribe to youtube channels and watch episodic programming made specifically for youtube, and while I’m doing all of this, eat a mixture of fruits with junk food. This formula works like a charm for me every time and keeps me constantly smiling and consistently positive! Derek Vasconi, CEO of Sakura Publishing and maker of the free iphone app, eMobo

For me as a compulsive doer and a caregiver, I first had to shift my thinking that I deserved self-love. I also wasn’t feeling good and not loving myself was showing up in my body. The changes I made was adequate rest, higher quality food, positive connections, and play! Now that I am better to myself, I am better to the world! Erena DiGonis, LMSW

One of the main things I do for myself, is to give to others.  I’m constantly on the lookout for ways to make others feel good, to contribute to others, and thereby gain good feelings about myself.  Some of the things I do include donating workshops to the unemployed, helping people with computer issues, coaching people on diet and exercise, and helping a stranger in a store reach something on a high shelf.  The act isn’t critical, it’s the attitude, for as someone once said, “He who enriches others, enriches himself. Ronald Kaufman, author Anatomy of Success

Some days I wake up with a negative body image bug. It seems that no matter what goes wrong, my body is to blame. When I catch that process unfolding, I get away as quickly as I can — even if it’s just minimizing the million open browser tabs on my computer. Then I take a deep breath, ask myself what I need in that moment and do my best to meet that need in some small way. Anna Guest-Jelley, founder of Curvy Yoga

One small recent change I have made toward loving myself is to sleep. I felt guilty for going to sleep and not accomplishing everything on my to do list, but one woman recently put into words what I could not and hearing her spoke volumes to my soul. While this is still a work in progress, sleeping without guilt and waking refreshed is a wonderful feeling I desire more of as I learn to love myself a little more each day. Wendy Wright, Photographer, Writer, and Founder of Choosing Love

To love on myself I play a few of my favorite upward lifting love songs. I sing them to myself while dancing around the room. It lifts my energy and helps me grow and thrive mentally, emotionally and physically. I also will take a long, introspective look at the things I choose to surround myself with (wardrobe/decor/etc.) and think of how interesting I must look to others.  Particularly my sock drawer!  It makes me giggle that I’m 45 years old and don’t own one pair of white socks, few are even a solid color, most have stripes (a few have toes). Valerie Poteete, aka: Penelope V. Pendragon, WiSH Facilitator

I love myself by choosing to fulfill my own hopes and dreams. I believe unfullfilled hopes and dreams can be very toxic, draining, and self-limiting. I just published my first book. This is a dream I have had for many years. I wrote the book during my third daughters nap time. I let the dishes and laundry wait until after my writing time and guess what? They did get done! I also found time to write when waiting for my children to complete activities and by carving out time on the weekends. I kept myself going by listening to moving music that spoke to the part of myself that is worthy. I watch very little TV and read as much inspirational information as I can. I make time to go outside, play, do yoga, sit in silence, and practice gratitude. I treated the process as a journey allowing myself to let go of outcome and live by the mantra, “Write it for you, no one else but you.”  Sherianna Boyle, Powered by ME tm, author of Powered by Me for Educators Pre-K -12

Try some of these tips to say “I love Me!” The better you feel from showing yourself love, the stronger your self-love will become!
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Join the Self-Love Movement™! Take the 31 Days of Self-Love Commitment and get my book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways for free at http://howdoiloveme.com. Read my 31 Days of Self-Love Posts 2012 HERE.

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