Brown Girl Guidebook: Start with Self-Love

By Jessica Amaro, 7 Amazing Co-Authors and Amaro Group Publishing

It's time you discover all the reasons to love yourself, using this conversational workbook for Brown Women of all ages. You'll explore Self-Love, starting with self-awareness, when you see yourself clearly, you allow yourself to embrace self-confidence and build self-esteem. We make sounder decisions, build stronger relationships, and communica

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amaro Group Publishing
• Release date: Jul 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798985389555

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Mt Pleasant, SC

www.AmaroGroupServices.com

Brown Girl Guidebooks

Copyright © 2022 Amaro Group Services LLC

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or other–except for brief quotations in printed reviews without prior permission of the author.

Paperback ISBN: 979-8-9853895-4-8

eBook ISBN: 979-8-9853895-5-5

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Choosing Self-Awareness

Self-Satisfaction Assessment

Preparing To Be Selfish

People Pleaser Meter

Finding Self Compassion

The Love Letter

Knowing Your Self-Worth

I Am Worthy

Building Self-Esteem

Strengths Planner

Finding Self-Confidence

I Am, I Can, I Will

Practicing Self-Care

Your Needs First

Maintaining Self-Discipline

Take Action

Brown Girl Self-Love Pledge

INTRODUCTION

Jessica Amaro created the Brown Girl Guidebook series to serve as a road map for mastering life and a source of cultural celebration. Growth is a lifestyle, and it requires learning a lot about yourself in the process and often a little help from another Brown Girl. With the help of an amazing group of co-authors, Brown Girl Guidebooks delivers a practical approach to reframing your thoughts, cultivating resilience, and taking immediate action.

We welcome you to enjoy the first book in the Brown Girl Guidebook series, Start with Self-love, each chapter is divided into four sections.

Life Lesson: A detailed narrative written by one of our amazing co-authors introducing a core concept that is imperative to your growth

Emotional Check-in: An activity that allows you to identify how you feel in real-time before you begin each chapter.

Transformational Exercise(s): A variety of therapeutic centered exercises that will reinforce and support working through your emotions and letting go of limiting beliefs.

Reflection: A lined page to take stock of your reactions and truths.

In each chapter, you’ll explore the core aspects of Self-Love.

What is Self-Love? Self-love is a state of appreciation for oneself that grows from actions that support physical, psychological, and spiritual growth. The beauty of self-love is that it's unique to everyone. To truly grow love and appreciation for yourself, you must first figure out what self-love looks like for you. However, at baseline, self-love requires the following;

Self-love requires that you prioritize your own well-being and happiness.

Self-love requires that you focus on taking care of your own needs.

Self-love requires that you choose security and comfort over pleasing others.

Self-love demands that you never settle for less than you deserve.

What does Self-Love look like? Self-love is far more than pedicures, vacations, eating right and journaling. It’s all of those things and so much more. Self-love looks different for all of us but focusing on understanding the following concepts is non-negotiable.

Choosing Self-Awareness

Preparing To Be Selfish

Finding Self-Compassion

Knowing Your Self-Worth

Building Your Self-Esteem 

Growing Your Self-Confidence

Practicing Self-Care

Maintaining Self-Discipline

Why is self-love so important? The way you love yourself is the instructional guide for how others should love you. Moreso, how you love and treat yourself directly affects how others love and treat you. At some point, you have to acknowledge that focusing all your energy on taking care of others and fixing everything and everybody is counterproductive. The moment you start focusing on giving yourself more love and more attention, everyone around you will follow suit. When you focus on self-love, things begin to change for the better.

You are motivated to make healthy choices in life.

You build stronger relationships.

You communicate more effectively.

Self-love is not a destination; it’s a journey that requires practice. This journey has no starter pistols, finish lines, certifications, or plaques.  If you choose, this journey can give way to amazing adventures filled with a-ha moments, reflection-induced smiles, forced acceptance, breathtaking freedom, and a greater sense of self.  The journey starts the moment you commit to doing the work, and it does not require perfection, just dedication. Brown Girl, start by giving yourself permission to take up space and focus solely on YOURSELF!

Self-awareness

/ˈˌself əˈwernəs/

conscious knowledge of one's own character, feelings, motives, and desires.

CHAPTER ONE

EMOTIONAL CHECK-IN

Today, I am feeling__________________________________________

because___________________________________________________

Take a deep breath and decide if you are ready to turn the page…

CHOOSING SELF-AWARENESS

JESSICA AMARO

I sat in my driveway, staring at my garage door in disbelief. My tears had begun to blur my vision, and I couldn’t find the strength to move. I was paralyzed by missed opportunities and misused potential. Truly, I was trapped beneath the realization that my life was in no way a reflection of the person that lived in my head. On this day, my tears offered no relief. Time had sped by, thirty years, two degrees, two children, two businesses, a great husband, a lovely home, a few friends, and countless hours spent in my driveway staring at my garage door.

This had become a part of my daily routine. Get the kids up in the