A common thing that people say is, “Love Yourself.” But how do we love ourselves more? What exactly does that mean and what is the benefit to it? The reason why the phrase is so popular is because it encourages people to put aside the negativity in their lives and to accept themselves for who they really are. If you learn to love yourself, you’re less likely to fall into depression or eating disorders. So, find the find time to love yourself a little bit more.
- Positive Affirmations
If you say something enough, you eventually start to believe it. If you look in the mirror every morning and think that you’ll never be enough, you’ll believe it and live up to that. The opposite is true as well. If you look in the mirror and tell yourself that you’re beautiful, you’ll start to believe that too. There are no real definitions of what “beauty” or “greatness” are, so define them yourself. Tell yourself the attributes that you have that you love. You should treat yourself like you would want a spouse to treat you.
- Don’t Treat Yourself Like a Dog
It sounds silly, but you should never treat yourself like a dog. You’re a human being with thoughts and feelings. You shouldn’t reward yourself with food for doing a good job and, likewise, you should never punish yourself by withholding love. Never beat yourself up for messing up an instead recognize that you made a mistake and that you can fix it. If you want to reward yourself, reward yourself with things that you love to do. If you love reading, go down to the part and pull out a book for a few hours. Or, if you’re big into fitness, finally get that keto meal delivery service that you’ve been wanting. Whatever it is, make sure that it’s a show of love toward yourself rather than tossing yourself a snack for a job well done.
- Look Outside Yourself
To truly love yourself, you can’t be inside of your own head for hours critiquing and judging every move that you make. Get outside of your head and look out to the people around you. There are so many people who are struggling with the same that you’re struggling with. So, on the bus, rather than staring out the window and assuming no one wants to talk to you, assume that they do and strike up a conversation. You’ll find that people love to tell stories and that they are more than willing to chat. Also, try to add more service to your life. When you do kind things for the people around you, you feel better about yourself and about the place that you have in this world.
- Learn a New Skill
A common reason why people start to dislike themselves is that they grow restless and anxious. They want something to change in their lives, but they’re not sure what. Rather than telling yourself that you’re doing something wrong, learn to do something new. Pick something that you have always wanted to learn. Maybe you have a Spanish background, and so you go out a take a Spanish class to connect better with your heritage. Or, maybe you have always wanted to paint or write poetry. Whatever it is , be patient with yourself as you learn and don’t be afraid if learning your new skill rearranging your entire day. You might need the change.
- Smile
The best thing that you can do is smile. People who smile are more attractive to others than those who don’t. Others will see you as happier, kinder, and more fun to be around. You’ll be complemented by strangers, and people will gravitate towards you. It makes it so much easier to fall in love with yourself if you’re smiling.
Learning to love yourself is a process. You need to learn how to forgive and forget. You need to move on from the past and love the person that you are today.