As a college student with high GPA standards, I am constantly pushing myself to work hard and graduate with outstanding grades. Bombing a couple of tests have discouraged me in the past and have caused some self-doubt in my work ethic, however, I am one to easily forget about the value of possessing self-love and how to practice it everything I do, especially in academics. As a reminder of what it means to have self-love, Kristin Neff from Psychology Today states, “When faced with…confronting personal mistakes, failures, and inadequacies, self-compassion responds with kindness rather than harsh self-judgment.” In other words, having love and compassion for yourself is accepting your personal mistakes and transforming them into learning experiences. Listed below are my essential self-love tips that I have found inspiring in the past.
Do Not Question or Doubt Your Self-Worth
When you feel like saying the phrase, “I’m not good enough,” do not measure your self-worth just from a couple of mistakes. Change your mindset and attitude to a positive outlook by saying to yourself that there will be a chance to improve or try again. The significance of self-worth is valuing all parts of yourself, including shortcomings. It might feel like an easy option to negatively put yourself down because everyone is their own worst critic but, learning to accept and appreciate both weaknesses and strengths makes the most resilient individuals. Imperfection and error are a gift of being human. The more compassion and love you give to yourself in times of hopelessness or stress will make you a stronger person.
To Love Yourself is to Not Compare Your Performance to Others
More often than we think, we compare our performance and success to other individuals, which can lower self-confidence. What we believe is a fair comparison from one person’s work to our own is a huge misconception; everyone accomplishes tasks at different paces, which is a part of life. Before thinking about someone else’s progress and comparing it to your own, reflect on your strengths and focus on your personal accomplishments. In other words, do not create a competition against others when you can manifest in your own lane.
Choose to Do Something for You
Reflect on some activities or new hobbies you’ve wanted to try on your own that you haven’t made time for. Bring out your artistic side and create something beautiful for yourself to display, such as painting a picture or scrapbooking. Go to the nearest library or bookstore and choose a genre of literature to read that you’re not familiar with, while trying a new coffee drink too. Make a playlist full of all your guilty pleasure songs for days you need a little positive boost. Take a one-day road trip and visit parks you haven’t been to. Taking some time away from other tasks to have a new personal experience is an act of love for yourself.
Hopefully these self-love tips give you more insight and knowledge on how to value and appreciate all parts of yourself including flaws. At the end of the day, self-love is believing that you are enough; treating yourself with utmost respect and compassion.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201706/8-powerful-steps-self-love