Self-love is a necessity in life, but all too often we push it aside and try not to think about it. That needs to change. You can’t expect to love anyone else or live life to the fullest without taking the time to love yourself first. Not having self-love not only affects you on the inside, but it shows on the outside as well. So how does one begin the journey to find self-love? Consider the following things.
1. Practice Mindfulness
Know how you feel, what you think and what you love. Be honest with yourself. If you are upset, don’t tell yourself that it’s fine and push that feeling to the side. Take care of that feeling. This can look like taking a five-minute break from all that homework you have been doing for hours or telling someone why you are upset. It just depends on the situation.
2. Self-Care
You need to take care of yourself. I cannot stress this enough. You cannot love yourself if you are not keeping up on your physical and mental health. The self-care process looks different for everyone, but yoga, face masks, bath bombs and writing are some common practices of self-care. You can do absolutely anything you’d like to keep up with your physical and mental health.
3. Allow Yourself to Be Loved
As human beings, we all put up walls. Some of us put up more barriers than others. While it is important to let down some of those walls and allow others to love us, it is even more important to let down the walls inside us. By doing so, it will enable us to love ourselves.
4. Surround Yourself With the Right People
You know that friend that always shows up when it’s convenient for them? It’s time to say goodbye. Do not surround yourself with toxic people. Those people will only get in the way of your happiness and self-love.
5. Follow Your Heart
While it’s important to think with your head, sometimes you need to think with your heart. Your feelings matter, so take into consideration what your heart is telling you. For example, your mind might keep reminding you that you are not the best of the best, but your heart will tell you all the reasons you perfect just the way you are.
6. Say No
Say no. Taking on too many responsibilities can be overwhelming and just not healthy. Say no when you are asked to do “just one more thing” when you already have too much on your plate. You need time for yourself and the things you want to focus on. Having too much responsibility will only make you sacrifice how well you’re doing on your tasks due to the lack of time and the strain it could have on your mental health. Also, if you are uncomfortable with doing something, say no to doing it! It really is that simple.
7. Have Purpose and Make Goals
No one is expecting you to know the meaning of life. Live life with the purpose to keep going, even if it’s just a something small. Pick anything and make it your purpose for today, this week or even your entire year. Do the same with making goals. You can even make your goal your purpose. You will feel so good working to accomplish your goals, and I guarantee you’ll feel even better after you accomplish them, especially if your goals align with your purpose.
8. Let Go
We all have held grudges. It’s time to let them all go. Grudges can take a toll on our self-esteem. It’s a waste of time to dwell on the negativity of the past. Replace the time you spend thinking about grudges with some positive thoughts. The sooner you get rid of all those grudges, the sooner you can be at peace and truly love yourself.
9. Be Grateful
Be grateful for anything. Find at least one thing to be grateful for every day. It can be family, friends, pets or even an object you love. Make the time to be thankful for something, and it will completely change your mindset.
10. Forget the Approval of Others
Do not care about what others think and do not look for the approval of others! Deep down, your opinion is the only one that truly matters. Forget the standards portrayed on social media. Look however you want to look, do want you want to do, and be who you want to be. Do your thing and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.