Amongst the Things You’re Working on at home… self-love can be one of the most valuable!
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Self-love is a popular concept in today’s society that’s more often talked about than it is practiced. Many of us may think that we take great care of ourselves, but self-love goes far beyond getting enough sleep and exercise. Instead, self-love is a combination of actions and attitudes that support our personal, professional, and social well-being. Not only does it influence the way you see yourself, but it also influences the people you surround yourself with, the image you project to others, and your overall value of life.
Self-love doesn’t just happen overnight; rather, it’s a state of appreciation that can only grow from actions that promote our spiritual, physical, and psychological growth. While this may seem intimidating, achieving it can be easier than you think.
To show yourself the admiration and support you deserve, follow this six-step prescription for self-love:
1. Set & Stick to Your Boundaries
Setting limits and sticking to your boundaries is a crucial step for self-love as it serves to shield you from the people and activities that are harmful to your health and happiness.
At the end of the day, you know yourself better than anyone else, so it’s up to you to protect yourself from the things that don’t add value to your emotional, spiritual, or physical health. By doing this, you’re more likely to have genuine, meaningful relationships with other people and engage in behavior that aligns well with who you are from the inside and out.
2. Monitor Your Lifestyle Habits
A powerful, yet often overlooked step to self-love is monitoring your lifestyle habits. It’s not always obvious to figure out what’s stopping you from feeling good about yourself. For some people, the root of the issue lies with an internal struggle like self-acceptance, while for other people, the problem relates to an external struggle, like having poor lifestyle habits.
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Take your diet, for example. According to WebMD, the types of foods you eat can stimulate physiological and chemical changes in your brain’s structure, which can lead to altered behavior. That’s why it’s vital to monitor your lifestyle habits and keep track of what may, or may not be contributing to your mood, energy level, and self-image, and adjust them as necessary.
3. Practice Self-Care Rituals Daily
How often you practice self-care can play a direct role in how much self-love you have for yourself. This is because devoting time to only focus on yourself allows you the chance to relax, unwind, and self-reflect, all of which are key components of self-appreciation.
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Needless to say, it’s critical that you incorporate self-care rituals into your daily routine. This could be something as small as personalizing your beauty routine every day with unique skin-care formulas. Or, if you’d prefer to devote more time to self-care, you can try something a bit more drastic, like signing up for yoga or meditation classes.
4. Feel It, Face It, Free It
Self-acceptance is the foundation of self-love as it permits you to embrace all facets of yourself and enables your real self to be seen by others. Unfortunately, however, self-acceptance is a difficult stepping-stone to overcome because it requires you to reveal the good and bad parts about yourself and become okay with them.
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Despite how challenging this may seem, self-acceptance can be achieved. How? Simple: feel it, face it, and free it. Rather than being judgmental towards your own thoughts and feelings, allow yourself to feel them whole-heartedly. Don’t shy away from these emotions, face them head-on so you can properly deal with them and the situation at hand. A good way to do this is by writing down your feelings in a journal as it allows you an outlet to hash out your feelings and reflect on them later on. In doing so, you’ll be able to develop a better relationship with your inner-being and ultimately free yourself of these feelings and take positive, forward-moving action.
5. Be Gentle with Yourself
Although a reasonable amount of self-criticism can be constructive when you become your own worst critic, you’re derailing both your confidence and success. Whether you like it or not, failure is a normal part of life. It teaches us valuable lessons about our behavior and actions, as well as helps us improve ourselves.
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So, while it may be important to be self-aware, try not to be too hard on yourself. Remember, no one is perfect. We all make mistakes, get embarrassed, or face defeat, and that’s okay! Sometimes the point of falling is to get back up and try again.
6. Detox & Cleanse Your Social Media
With technology at our fingertips, it’s easy for us to consume our free time scrolling through our social media channels. And while it may be a great way to pass time and keep up with your loved ones, it’s essential to reflect on how and why you’re using it. Ask yourself: Why do I use my social media? Who are the people I’m connected with? Am I comparing myself to others?
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If the answer is yes to any of the following questions, consider detoxing and cleansing your social media. Friend requesting or following people who you find to be toxic can hinder the development of self-love as it alters your worldview and self-perception. But, by following the saying, “out of sight, out of mind” you’ll be able to accelerate your path to personal growth and self-love.