Self-love means different things to different individuals. This definition varies from eating a favorite snack to baking one, from taking care of plants to just taking care of yourself. Whatever your definition of self-love may be, it is important, especially after a year as arduous and tiresome as 2020.
It is no secret that 2020 left everyone wounded in one way or another. It felt as if everyone was in a different realm where time stood still but on the contrary, passed faster than ever. Therefore, the journey to self-love in the year following 2020 is extremely pivotal for the mental and physical well-being of all human beings.
This is how Her Campus @ Delhi South members aim to practice self-love in 2021:
Journaling:
Journaling is a great way to come to terms with one’s feelings and emotions and to acknowledge all the things that are bothering a person or are just keeping a person’s mind completely occupied. Journaling also helps in the manifestation of dreams and aspirations into reality, suffice to say, it really is one of the best ways to practice self-love and gain a deeper understanding of oneself.
Focusing on Physical Health:
It doesn’t come as a surprise that taking care of one’s physical health is one of the most important ways of practicing self-love. Maintaining physical health by exercising produces endorphins that are responsible for keeping people happy and healthy. It also provides much-needed satisfaction to people who are in the habit of constantly criticizing their bodies. Improvement in one’s sleeping schedule also comes under the umbrella of taking care of one’s physical health.
Skincare:
Taking care of one’s skin has become a major part of practicing self-love in recent times. Skincare is trending and for good reason! Who doesn’t love healthy, glowing skin?
Mindfulness:
The act of being mindful is perhaps the most underrated way of practicing self-love. Being mindful means being aware of one’s thoughts and feelings and being aware and accepting of one’s reality. Mindfulness helps an individual to monitor the kind of thoughts that come into their mind and also helps keep track of the negative self-talk. Mindfulness helps in being kind to oneself and getting rid of all the judgment that people have for themselves.
Eating:
The most satisfying and exciting aspect of practicing self-love has to be eating one’s favorite snack. Being able to eat one’s favorite dessert without any shame or guilt is one of the world’s most amazing feelings. Some tend to eat junk food as a reward while others may also turn to healthy food for the same.
Watching TV and/or Reading Books:
Watching one’s favorite shows and movies has to be one of the best ways to relax. Imagine kicking your feet up, making a bowl of your favorite snack and watching your favorite movie, or putting a face mask on and reading your favorite book. Voila! Recipe for a perfect day devoted to self-love and self-love only.
Positive thinking:
Getting rid of negative thoughts is a challenging task. It is a pandemic of the mind that we try to combat daily. That alone deserves recognition. Positive thinking is another way to practice self-love and it is very apparent why. There’s no self-love without positivity and self-acceptance.
The members also plan on leaving behind self-sabotaging habits like comparing themselves to others, shyness, not eating enough, eating too much, overloading themselves with too much work, procrastinating, criticizing themselves way too much, anxiety, and overthinking. These might be difficult to overcome, but the strength within is always enough to defeat all demons of the mind. With that, I wish everyone reading this a very peaceful journey to self-love in 2021.