It is January and finally 2018! With the New Year many people develop the mindset of “New year, new me” and set crazy resolutions, but let’s be honest, no one ever sticks to them for more than a few weeks. What we should really focus on should be “new year, BETTER me.” With the new year, we far too often get sucked into the idea that we need ditch our self from the year before and become a completely new person, when really you should take care and grow more into the person you already are! The best way to do this is to take care of yourself and learning how to be more confident. Yes, this may sound scary and you might be thinking, “What really is self-care and confidence?” Don’t worry this is your pep talk.
A fist easy step is to think “I like me, and I don’t care if you like me,” it might be hard to believe at first but the more you say it the more you will start to believe it! Sometimes having confidence in yourself is as simple as faking it until you make it. Many believe that if they are confident in who they are they are being selfish and that is just not the case, you are standing up for yourself! Being more confident can come from the way you talk. Making small efforts like saying “I know” or “I feel” rather than “I think” and reduce the number of times you say “I don’t know” or “I’m sorry” will not only make you feel more confident in what you are saying, but you will also sound more confident when you speak and people will be more likely to take your ideas and feelings more seriously! Another, easy way to be more confident is to smile. Yes, it is that simple!
Now, let’s talk about self-love. Self-love and self-care are so much more than a bubble bath and ice cream. Many think self-love and “treat yo-self” is the same thing. Self-love is so much deeper, it is actually taking care of yourself emotionally, mentally and physically. Self-care is saying no to your friends when they want to go out to a party, and you just want to stay in watch movies. Self-love is going to a yoga class when your work out buddy wants to spend the next hour doing cardio and you just aren’t feeling it. So often we want to push ourselves to the limit, thinking that we have to say yes to everything in order to be happy and have fun, but in reality, you end up burning yourself out. An easy way I have found to remember this is the quote “You can’t pour from an empty cup, take care of yourself first, If you go so long without a break, you are going to break.”