Episode 49: What the Heck is Self-Love Anyway? with Jonathon Aslay

This week, Jonathon Aslay, America's Leading Mid-Life Dating Coach, joins me to discuss the importance of learning how to love yourself. In this episode, Jonathon shares his divorce story and his journey to self-love, and how that journey prepared him for the biggest hardship yet to come. His story is a powerful testament to personal development and self-work. As you’ve heard me say before, there was a (large) part of me that died in my marriage. And I will say it again and again, the greatest gift to myself (and to my ex) was to leave my marriage. As Jonathon so eloquently put it, “This experience called life, is our experience first.” It’s okay to end a relationship that does not serve you or your partner. Our conversation today is a great reminder that there are ways to coexist but not stay married, and ways to begin a journey of experiencing life on your own terms.  I’ll leave you some of Jonathon’s words of wisdom, “Divorce is the unraveling of one’s former tapestry and that takes its toll. If one chooses to begin to work on themselves, they will be much more prepared when it happens.”  (And, shameless plug, this is exactly what we do in my program!)  Show Highlights Jonathon’s experience with divorce and what he had hoped he learned about marriage beforehand (5:00) Through relationships we learn about ourselves (9:29) Some things men and women do that scream, “I’m wounded and haven’t healed yet!” (10:00) His online dating addiction after divorce and how he transformed from living life from an egoic place to how he now sees and experiences life; through the eyes of love (13:18) If you are on a spiritual path and your partner is not, what do you do? (17:06) Staying in a marriage ‘out of obligation’ and why that’s not enough (21:03) Men are nesters in a relationship and women are the container of the heart for a relationship; plus what that all means (21:33) Emotional connections and why communication is a skill we don’t readily have (27:00) It’s a daily practice to invest in oneself, because it begins to strengthen us from the inside out (32:31) How the daily investing in himself prepared Jonathon for a devastating loss, the loss of his 19-year old son (35:41) Whether we’re grieving loss of child, parent, loved one, job or marriage, the work we do on ourselves prepares us (38:00) Personal development is not just for women, self-love and self-help is for everyone (43:00) Learn More About Jonathon: The focus of one of America's Leading Mid-Life Dating Coach has expanded into a deeper, essential philosophy of what it truly means to LOVE.     After losing his 19-year-old son Connor in 2018, Jonathon Aslay’s grief led him on a soul-searching inner journey, where he became aware of an often-overlooked dimension of the dating conversation.    He realized that the process of dating reveals the most common emotional health issue faced by many singles seeking a partner: a distressing lack of self-worth, self-regard, and self-love.     Today, he is on a mission of encouraging both men and women to fully love themselves with a new book, "What The Heck Is Self-Love Anyway?"—packed with fun, engaging spiritual and personal growth practices—and his dynamic Mid-Life Love Mastery mentorship program, that inspires hundreds of people daily, around the world.