My journey of love began after removing myself from an unhealthy and toxic relationship. For three years, I had relied on my significant other to fill me with love and within seconds drain me of that love. I did not know that I was allowed to put myself first and love myself. All that I knew was that feelings of bliss and joy were given to me by him followed by feelings of depression and hopelessness also given to me by him.
After I discovered what freedom felt like, I began to get in touch with my true self. Introspection taught me a lesson that changed my life. I quickly learned that I did not approve of myself and I did not love myself. I was my biggest critique. My energy to receive and give love had diminished until I decided to let a traumatic time in my life influence and begin my self-love journey. My life perception changed completely. Sometimes it takes encountering difficult experiences with your friends, loved ones, or significant other to realize how important it is to approve of yourself.
Love is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection. Love is the deepest interpersonal connection that we can have. The society that we live in often assumes that love is a feeling that must be given to us by another person. This assumption is false. We falsely believe that love is not something that we can so easily let ourselves have.
When you commit to letting go of expectations from others, you will shortly see that love has always been there for you to have and to give to yourself. I call this self-love. Self-love is the most important love for humans to have. Below, I have highlighted some useful ways to practice loving yourself. Allow your self-love journey to start at this very moment.
Forgive Yourself
We are often the hardest on ourselves. Forgiving ourselves for past mistakes can be very difficult. It is important to understand that we as humans make mistakes and each mistake that we encounter teaches us an important lesson. Nothing ever goes away until we learn from it. Remember that the past is the past and you were doing your best at that moment. It is okay to make mistakes; we learn the most from the mistakes we make along our life journey.
Be Gentle with Yourself
Compassion and empathy are easy to give to your friends and your family, but do you give yourself the same compassion that you so easily give to them? Being gentle with ourselves enables us to be okay when we have bad days. We can practice being gentle with ourselves by simply removing yourself from situations that do not feel right and allowing ourselves to just relax.
Practice Self-Care
Self-care should be implemented in everyone’s daily lives at least once a day. Allowing ourselves to do something that brings us joy and peace every single day will only enhance the journey to become madly in love with yourself. Whether it is reading a book, journaling, going for a walk, or even getting your nails done, self-care is solely the most important action that will bring us happiness.
Surround Yourself with Positive People and Experiences
When we surround ourselves with people that make us feel good we automatically feel better about ourselves. Allowing ourselves to hang out with people that are positive influences in our life is not selfish; it is a reminder to ourselves that we have the power to choose who receives the beautiful energy that we have.
When you go to bed tonight make a commitment to yourself. Make a commitment to forgive yourself, have self-compassion and to do things that bring you joy. Write your plan down. We can say that we are going to do something, but the growth does not start until we actually practice what we preach.