Happy New Year! We all get to start fresh and new each day, but January is the month to consciously set our intentions for the year, and with January being Self-Love Month, why not set those intentions on loving ourselves? I have joined forces with Daylle Deanna Schwartz and have taken the pledge to do something loving for myself every day.

For the past two years, the Love Warrior Community has hosted the Daily Self-Love Writing Challenge where we commit to write self-love posts on the Love Warrior Community’s group self-love blog, Self-Love Warrior, to help us consciously think and act lovingly towards ourselves.

Daylle has inspired me to create a Self-Love Diet Contest. The person who submits the most Self-Love Diet blog posts will get an autographed  copy of my book, Self-Love Diet: The Only Diet That Works, which will be published later this month. I will tabulate the blog posts at the end of this month and announce the winner!

Below is information about Daylle’s Pledge.

Commit to Yourself

“I commit to do my best to do something loving for myself, however big or small, for the first 31 days of 2013.”

Sign the pledge, and Join The Self-Love Movement™! Over 3400 people have signed the pledge to commit to doing something kind for themselves for the first 31 days of 2013. Also download Daylle Deanna Schwartz’s book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count The Ways, for free, and share this post to inspire your friends and family to join you in making 2013 a more loving year.

The loving things I’ve done for myself so far today:

I slept in until 9:30 am! (I stayed up late playing monopoly and watching movies with the kids last night!!)

I consciously received the love from my husband by eating a great omelet he made for us this morning.

I gave love to my kids by cooking breakfast for them and picking tangerines off our bush for them to add to the bounty! I found such joy in having my son-in-law walk into the kitchen when he woke up this morning. It was great having him and my daughter spend the night last night. He’s now added to my kids; it was a poignant moment. Sharing my love with others is a loving act.

I chose a loving behavior when I invited my husband to sit outside in the backyard in the sun. As we sat in the sun with our eyes closed, I could hear the waterfall of our pool, and I imagined opening our eyes and being in Greece! It was a fleeting image, but I shared it with my husband, and when I closed my eyes again, it was as if we were on vacation in that striking location. Using my imagination is a loving kindness.

This sunny day beckoned me to move outside. I got on my bike while my husband and daughter walked. Being in my body, in the moment, on my bike, in the sunny, brisk air was definitely a loving behavior. I notice a joy within my spirit when I’m on my bike. I greeted people I saw walking as I rode past them, and each time they responded their smiles and greetings added to my joy.

When I got home, I stretched my body, which I don’t always do. That was also a conscious choice to love myself today.

It’s 2:15 pm on this first day of January, and I will continue to choose loving, kind behaviors for myself and towards others.

Will you take the pledge along with me? If you do, I invite you to share one or more things that you do for yourself, and let me know how it makes a difference in your life to share it with others. I hope you are the one who wins an autographed book from me. The truth is, that everyone who takes the pledge whether you submit blog posts or not will be winners because you will be adding love to your life. When you do that, it has no choice but to overflow into all of your relationships and fills your spirit with all the benefits that love brings.

Blessings to you on this first day of the year, and everyday of your life.

Michelle Michelle

Join us in the 31 Day Self-Love Writing Contest to win an autographed copy of Michelle Minero’s book, Self-Love Diet: The Only Diet That Works. Read through the Self-Love Posting Guidelines for inspiration on different ways you can focus on bringing more love into your life through the 7 paths of the Self-Love Diet. Read through 2012’s monthly Self-Love Writing Prompts for ideas on topics you can write about to help you focus more on loving yourself, and read through others’ self-love posts for inspiration at the bottom of the prompts page. Share your self-love journey with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Michelle Minero is a licensed marriage family therapist who specializes in eating disorder recovery. Michelle’s book, Self-Love Diet: The Only Diet That Works, was published on January 23, 2013. You can purchase a copy through Amazon. Her dream is to see a world filled with people who love themselves and their bodies.

Michelle created an intensive outpatient eating disorder program in 2000, brought ANAD (Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, Inc.) to Petaluma shortly after and founded EDRS (Eating Disorder Recovery Support, Inc.), a Marin and Sonoma County based 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 2005.

In 2011, Michelle co-founded the Love Warrior Community with her daughter, Emelina, an online community that helps people cultivate self-love, self-acceptance and body acceptance through creative expression. Connect with Michelle on Facebook and Twitter.