As women we are constantly told to love ourselves more, and build a relationship with ourselves. But, what does that mean exactly? How does one love themselves? What does loving yourself mean? What does it even look like? Most people think it involves eating healthier and exercising more or staying in bed all day watching your favorite movies. Truth is it involves all of these things. I’ve organized a list of five things you can do to love yourself more.
1. Learn to be alone. I’ve noticed that often times we feel so uncomfortable or awkward being alone. We think people may judge us or look at us funny. Truth is, the more you learn to be alone, and comfortable with who you are the more you will learn to love yourself. So, take yourself out on a date to a fancy restaurant, go to an art museum, or even go to a concert and make some new friends. The feeling of discomfort will go away and you will realize how essential alone time is for building your own sense of self.
2. Compliment yourself daily. Choose to compliment yourself about something you are having trouble with as of late. Say it out loud while you look at yourself in the mirror or put it on a post it note, and place it on your mirror. Say it to yourself until it feels real. You will feel so much better.
3. Focus on the things you like about yourself. As humans we have a tendency to focus on things we dislike about ourselves. The more you focus on what you dislike about yourself the more those thoughts grow, and consume you. When you choose to focus on yourself in positive way it allows you to see how much of an amazing person you are. This in turn allows you to fall in love with yourself in a new light.
4. Let go of mistakes and embrace the past. Truth is we all have a past and we have all made mistakes. By holding onto what happened years ago or even yesterday you miss out on the now. You miss out on moving on with your life and growing as an individual. Keep in mind everything that happened to you in the past has molded you into the person you are now. Still, your past does not define your future and by embracing your past you allow space for healing and growth.
5. Last but not least appreciate your life. We tend to focus on the things we want to change in our lives, be it relationships wise or friendship wise. If we started focusing on the things we were grateful for instead of everything we want to change imagine the amount of growth that would occur within your life. When you train your brain to appreciate everything you are grateful for, you will immediately start loving yourself more.
Self-love is chosen. When you embrace yourself despite all of your flaws you open the door to self-love and accepting love from those around you.