I get such an ick when I read my old writing or listen to old podcast episodes. It just cringes me out

and I try to avoid it at all possible costs. But as a purveyor of self-compassion, I suppose I must

practice what I preach. And I think circling back to previous work, to past versions of yourself, to, I don't know,

like who you used to be, what you used to create is actually a great opportunity for reflection

and growth and expressing gratitude for your former self who made that stuff. So since it is the five-year

anniversary of the gift of self-love, I sat down and reread my own book. And to double down on

cringing myself out, I actually listened to it on audio. That way, I could both read my writing and hear the sound of my own

voice. Hi, hello. Welcome to Mary's Cup of Tea, the self-love podcast for women, though all self-lovers

are welcome here. I'm Mary. I write and speak about self-love and I'm best known for my book,

The Gift of Self-Love, and I also host retreats for women. And this is the podcast that will

inspire you to love yourself. It's been five years since the gift of self-love was published,

which means even longer since I wrote the manuscript of it, I was like 2021.

And now I'm in my late 20s.

So I'm still really, really proud of this book.

But I think five years comes with wisdom.

So I thought it would be fun to share five ideas that I would add or some parts in the book that I wish I could modify just as a way

to reflect and celebrate how far we've come. So let's get into it. Five things I change if I could

rewrite my self-love book. But first, I wanted to thank everybody who took the time to

leave a review on the podcast. It means so much to me. And this one comes from Henry 176377 from a couple

years back. They wrote, if you've been dealing with a self-identity crisis, then this podcast is for you.

Honestly, I feel like I've learned a lot from Mary,

and it just keeps getting better. I also just bought her book, and I'm so excited to start working on it.

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