How to Be Your Own Bestie

 “You Have to Be Your Own Best Friend.”

I grew up with my Mamma saying this to me. To be honest, I thought it was a load of bullocks.

I thought: I don’t need to be my own best friend. I have loads of best friends already.

It wasn’t until my early twenties when I hit rock bottom that I was aware of the destructive relationship I had with myself. In that moment, when I was lying in hospital, I realised that I treated myself like crappola. I spoke to myself like a piece of s%$t on my shoe and I had no idea what self-love was.

I guess the best thing about hitting rock bottom is the only way is up.

Lying in that hospital bed, I experienced my first introduction to self-love.

Every night in hospital, I listened to Louse Hay on my iPod until I fell asleep. I played with angel cards and I journaled every day. To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing. But, it felt right. It’s like I had no choice but to do those things.

Being your own bestie is really quite simple. Here’s how you get started:

The first thing you need to do is speak to yourself nicely. Catch your mean girl when she speaks to you like crap and change her tone.

When my mean girl has spoken to me meanly, I often place my hands on my heart and say, “I love you darling. Everything is okay.” Speak to yourself as you would your best friend.

Ask yourself: Would I speak to my best friend like this? If the answer is, “No!” then quit doing it to yourself.

The most important thing to remember is that, in order to nurture your relationship with yourself, you need to be gentle and come from love. Forgive yourself for stuffing up. Slide back down into your heart and out of your head.

Do you treat yourself like you are your own bestie?

– Melissa Ambrosini