I need to make a confession…
I am obsessed with working on myself…
I got tired of feeling burnt out all the time, and not just physically. I was emotionally, mentally, and spiritually spent. So I’d grab any glimmers of inspiration wherever I could: strolling through the bookstore to find the next best self-improvement book, and walking out with stacks of books. 50% of them, I’d never read.
No disrespect to those books; they did help me see different perspectives but nothing stuck with me. I’d go back to my old cycles of low-energy days and negativity.
Self love is something I cherish but it didn’t come easy for me, and there wasn’t a fairy godmother to wave my dreams into reality with a magic wand.
- I’d get stuck in negative thoughts.
- I didn’t know how to say ‘no’ to others.
- My negativity affected my relationships.
- I felt like taking time off for myself was selfish.
This stuff stacks. And it really put a dent in my self-esteem. Not a good one either. My confidence was fading away and that showed through my personal relationships and professional relationships.
My therapist who suggested getting a journal. Cool, cool. Here’s one problem though: I hate journaling. Really, I do. And that’s something I feel self-conscious about because everyone else seems to do it with no problem.
There’s a science to how journaling helps your mental health, but I could never turn that page and know what that was like. Because all I got from looking at a blank, lined journal page? Pure anxiety.
“What do I write?” I’d think to myself, and eventually, I’d spiral into self-doubt.
After a few more journals went wrong, my therapist said we should try a new journal she heard of. From there, things took a turn for the best.
After we introduced this journal to my schedule, it made me feel like I was making more progress than ever before.
The Self Love Spark by Lovet Planners is a scientifically supported journal, created to encourage and support complete self-acceptance. It’s not just a self love journal, it’s an experience.
Most self-improvement journals and courses are too structured and make it intimidating – sometimes impossible – to get through. But with the Self Love Spark, this is an undated, organic experience broken into three parts:
- Self Love for Your Past Self
- Self Love for Your Present Self
- Self Love for Your Future Self
The three parts are fine-tuned for different parts of who I am which I never would have thought of. I would have just journaled about self love right now, but there’s so much I had to process about who I used to be and who I want to be.
The Self Love Spark makes it so that I give each part (past, present, and future) equal amount of attention. Each part is a 30-day stretch, but since it’s undated I didn’t feel guilty if I missed one day. I could pick up where I left off.
In each section, there are different journaling prompts for the 30 days, but not just that. There’s also:
- Self Love Exercises
- Self Care Ideas
- Reflection Worksheets
Self Love Exercises. I love how each section starts with different writing exercises that are separate from the daily journaling prompts. When I started the Self Love Spark, I completed an activity to honor my past self and wrote a love letter to myself.
Self Care Ideas. It’s amazing how broad self care can be. It could be anything and the self care activity can nurture you mentally, physically, emotionally, or all of the above. So each section has recommended self care ideas for your past, present, and future self.
Reflection Worksheets. After every 30 days of journaling, there’s a deep dive of questions that helps me get to know myself. I loved this because whenever I used other journals, I felt like once the journal prompt was done with, that was that. These reflection questions gave me a layer of mindfulness in my journaling habits.
Throughout the Self Love Spark, there are actionable affirmations to help shift into a positive self love mindset.
“I’m so grateful for my past.
It made me who I am today.”
This affirmation in the first section took the wind out of me because I’ve always been so ashamed of who I used to be. On the page, it doesn’t just give me an affirmation. It tells me what to do with it. So for this, I repeat it 3x a day to my past self.
Self love is a practice that takes commitment until the results show, and self-criticism and self-judgment are habits that can be broken. It’s easier to support breaking bad habits when you have a new, healthy want to swap it out with. And that’s why the Self Love Spark came at the right time to give me a healthy alternative to what wasn’t working.
It taught me to offer myself patience and grace while I work on the relationship I have with myself.
It’s a 90-day experience that reminds you of your worth.
The goal of the Self Love Spark is to offer healing when mental health and wellness resources aren’t easily accessible. Lovet Planners’s mission is to keep mental wellness conversations going and make mental health the leading priority.
HOW MUCH IS IT?
I was shocked to see the Self Love Spark is only $31. Considering how much money I was spending on so many other journals and self love books, I can tell the team at Lovet Planners have been in my shoes seeing what they’ve done with this book.
I’ve ordered a few for myself and just ordered a few for my girlfriends.
If this resonates with you in any way, and tired of your lack of self love and sense worth getting in the way of living your best life, I guarantee you, this is the breath of fresh air your heart needs.
