All of us have those days where we feel down about ourselves, and for some of us, we experience more of those days than others. Nonetheless, it’s difficult to love yourself all the time when things seem to not be going right in your life. Whether it’s insecurity, troubles with love, or family related, we’ve all had moments in our lives when we just didn’t feel like our best selves. Some people may have conquered the question of how one learns to love themselves, but for others, here are three ways you can start.
1. Stop looking for validation from others
It’s too often that most of us find ourselves seeking the attention and care from someone else in our lives. Whether this is your significant other, someone you have your eyes on, friends you want to feel closer to, or family you wish would be there just a bit more.
If you find yourself constantly searching for attention from your partner or someone you’re interested in, one major step is to love yourself before you can think about loving another person. This starts with not waiting around for someone to tell you good things about yourself, but already knowing your positives! When there is nobody to give you an extra reminder of how special and worthy you are, you need to know yourself.
2. Treat yourself when necessary
It’s always okay to spoil yourself with goods and self-care. Contrary to popular belief, treating yourself does not always mean buying expensive clothes or maxing out your credit card on dinners and material items. Treating yourself is as simple as getting to bed early so you have enough rest for the next day or wearing a cute outfit to school/work to feel good about yourself. It’s about doing the small things that make a big difference to feel happy with your life and with yourself.
Sometimes, we just need a day to recharge our brains and rest our minds from the things we deal with during the week. It’s okay to take some time for yourself to better yourself mentally and make sure you’re alright to take on the days ahead of you. Do anything you deem necessary to treat yourself.
3. Trust the process
Bettering your view of yourself does not happen overnight, and it may not happen in a few days. Learning to love yourself is a difficult thought to adapt to when you have spent your life believing negative things that you think are true when it comes to your appearance or personality. You may find it challenging to believe that you are beautiful inside and out but when you finally start to, you’ll realize it was there all along.
And, it isn’t something that is noticed easily. One day, you’ll look in the mirror at yourself and mentally note that you look good, or subconsciously think things about yourself that you never believed years before. All of this without realizing that the perception you have of yourself is slowly changing. Be good to yourself because, whether you think it or not, you deserve better than what you allow yourself to believe. Learning to love yourself is never easy, but when you finally find yourself loving who you are, it is the easiest thing to do.