hello and welcome!

Hello and welcome to the month of February and my very first blog post for Miro Studio!

I can't believe that after all these years I've finally found the courage to join the blogging and social media scene. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along my journey up until this point! Miro Studio is as much mine as it is yours.

Can you believe we are already in the second month of 2019? We're finally past the aftermath of Christmas, New Year's Resolutions (or should we say intentions) and the back to school madness. The first month of the year is done and dusted!

The shops are already displaying goodies for Valentine's Day (as if my chocolate addiction needed any encouragement) and everywhere you go there is a profusion of red hearts, which leads me to sometimes feel quite cynical. Surely Valentine's Day is a big consumerism hype to make us spend more money? Do single people need to feel bad because they aren't in a relationship? Should we really confine the celebration of love to the romantic kind? What if February, the 'month of love', we explore the idea of self-love?

"Many of us equate self-love with being selfish bu they are not the same."

So many people I know care so much for others but care little for themselves. Maybe we are perfectionists and expect working hard to portray ourselves in a certain light - living up to others expectations and needs all the time. How do you speak to yourself? Is your inner monologue kind and loving or harsh and critical? Would you speak to your best friend the way you speak to yourself? If the answer is no, you need to re-assess the concept of self-love and how to implement it.

It doesn't mean caring about yourself over others or only doing what you want - it means talking to yourself kindly - not punishing your body. Try to look at yourself in the mirror with a smile and compliment rather than a criticism and complaint.

Think of yourself as an energy being not just a physical being. Send positive thoughts to yourself.

"Our bodies feel whatever we think of them"

It's not impossible to banish all negative thoughts but we can try and stop from slipping into negative patterns of behaviour. Think of your best friend and how they would feel if all they heard from you was criticisms "Don't eat that, you'll get fat", "Why are you so stupid today?", "Why didn't you get around to that today?" "You're useless". At this point, you probably wouldn't have a best friend anymore.

So quick rule of thumb - if you wouldn't say it to your best friend, don't say it to yourself. It won't happen overnight so be patient with yourself and enjoy the Valentine's Day chocolate regardless of your relationship status.

And to quote Cinderella:

"Have courage and be kind."

Analise x