I’ve always thought that I had to be in a romantic relationship in order to be loved and cared for through my love languages. However, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that I don’t have to wait around for someone to treat me well when I can do it for myself. Don’t get me wrong, although having my own personal Romeo would be nice, I’ve realized that I can show goodness and kindness to my own body and soul while he’s busy searching for me.
Before I dive into all the ways you can show love to yourself, think about how you treat yourself on a daily basis. Are you good to yourself? I know that occasionally, we’re all guilty of beating ourselves up with the negative talk, setting ourselves up for failure by having unrealistic expectations and making harmful choices. However, these things do nothing for us except lead us down a path of resentment, exhaustion and depletion. Self-love is an important prerequisite for aligning with our own unique spirits and opening our eyes to the abundant flow of light around us.
But how can you incorporate the five love languages to your own life? First, you have to be familiar with the ways that you interpret love. If you don’t know what your love languages are, you can take this quiz to find out!
Words of Affirmation
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Practice daily affirmations. Believe it or not, our thoughts precede our emotions and behaviors, so focus on using words to bring yourself up. I usually write sticky notes and stick them on my mirror so that I can remind myself that I am beautiful, strong and worthy every morning.
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Journal your strengths and all of your favorite qualities about yourself. Write down everything you accomplish, feel good about, do right, etc.
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Keep your self-talk positive and be compassionate with yourself. Turn down the volume of your inner critic and choose to be your biggest fan instead.
Acts of Service
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Prepare healthy meals for yourself. Put genuine thought and effort into your meal preparation.
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Create an organized, clean and pleasing home environment for yourself.
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Keep up with your regular physical, dental and mental health check-ups. Address any health concerns in a timely manner and don’t sweep anything under the rug.
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Groom yourself with love and care so that you can feel confident and beautiful.
Receiving Gifts
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Check something off of your bucket list and reward yourself with a unique and fun experience that will bring you joy. Make sure to budget and plan it out properly!
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Gift yourself with knowledge by investing in your education and advancement. Volunteer to learn new skills so that you can be a well-rounded individual. Who knows, you might discover a new hobby!
Quality Time
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Avoid over-scheduling or over-committing. You need to set a certain amount of time aside for leisure-your life is worth more than just school, business meetings and work.
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Figure out what activities give you the greatest relief and relaxation time with yourself and do them more often. For me, this means reading a book, meditating or taking a soothing bath with Epsom salts.
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Prioritize getting enough sleep and exercise so that you can feel refreshed and equipped to take on each day’s challenges.
Physical Touch
- Take the time to stretch your muscles when they feel tight. I usually have to do this a lot when I’m studying because I get so stressed!
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Moisturize your skin with lotion and essential oils
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Schedule an occasional massage, facial or pedicure. Take extraordinary care of yourself.
Whatever your personal love language might be, choose to love and take care of yourself every day no matter what. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection. You’ll be amazed at how much your life will begin to flourish when you choose to make yourself a top priority.