Self-love has become a pop culture movement, but is it happening in the wrong ways? Bubble baths and scented candles are great and make for a relaxing day, and buying yourself some Ben & Jerry’s for a night in is fun, but self-love is so much more than that.
Choosing self-love can’t be limited to spas and comfort food. It means choosing to love yourself during the worst moments too. During those late nights when you beat yourself up over that awkward exchange from that day. On days when you wake up with an unexpected zit. When you can’t help but stress-crying over your to-do list. As you scroll through social media and wish you looked like that girl in the ad. On those bad days when people, mental illness, or life seem to keep holding you down.
If self-love was as simple as a mani-pedi, we’d all feel 100% all the time, but it’s not easy and we can’t choose self-love only at those easy moments. You have to choose it during your low points. You have to work at it constantly. It takes practice, and you’ll mess up and make mistakes, and that’s okay.
A great way to work on self-love is affirmations (for those of you who don’t know, affirmations are positive statements you can say to yourself to encourage and support yourself). Here are a few self-love affirmations you can try for yourself!
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I love myself
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I am enough
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I have come this far, and I can keep going
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I am deserving of love, happiness, and goodness
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I am confident and I trust myself