Practicing self-love has been a challenge for many people!
However, based on my vast experience as a personal development expert, I’ve categorized the ways of achieving self-love into two classes to help you understand and implement it with minimal hassle.
These classifications include two aspects – understanding self-love and ways to practice it.
Understanding Self Love
Understanding self-love entails so many aspects – meaning of self-love, how you can find self-love, reasons why we need self-love, implementing self-love, and how to love yourself as a woman.
The following is a brief overview of these aspects.
What is self love?
Self love encompasses relating with yourself to the extent that you don’t feel inferior despite your inadequacies.
Also, self love can be defined as taking care of yourself with the same kindness that you would have manifested to your friend or any other person related to you.
According to a recent study, when you encounter challenges, or when you’re addressing your failures, self love should exhibit kindness instead of cruel judgment, acknowledging that weaknesses are part of human life.
At your age, being a young adult, self love can significantly contribute to your excellent relationships and fulfilling life. Perhaps you’re asking whether I’ve ever loved myself. The answer is ‘yes.’ However, I later came to realize that I was not entirely in love with myself until the time I came to comprehend the exact meaning of it.
How You Can Find Self Love
As a concept, self-love is just heard, but not being logically perceived. However, this post will give you insights that will help you get a clear perspective of this term.
I understand that in life, what you want to do maybe in conflict with what society wants. Sorry for being torn between what you aspire to do and the societal expectations. However, the good news is that you can now overcome this obstacle by feeling confident with yourself.
For you to find self-love, you must begin by practicing self acceptance. This implies that you need to appreciate your worthiness and overlook your failures to have a positive attitude towards yourself.
You can find self love if you start practicing it now. For instance, you can first get to understand it by reading books, articles, or blog posts. Next, you must practice it over time to reap adequate benefits from it.
Reasons Why We Need Self Love
Research shows that if we treat ourselves the way we take care of other people, we would live healthier, feel more motivated, and experience a sense of belonging in our lives. Despite this finding, it is evident that we don’t treat ourselves the way we ought to be.
Loving yourself is a bit hard; it requires you to consider your needs before those of others. At first, this may seem selfish to you, but eventually, you will realize the significance of taking care of yourself ahead of your friends or relatives.
The following is a highlight of the reasons why we need self love.
- Wise in decision making: Through self love, you’re free to say no to things that are against your values because you don’t fear what others will say being. For instance, if you believe that going to the gym will make prettier and healthier, then never be discouraged by anyone.
- Ability to accept reality: Exercising self love can help you come to terms with challenges in life, knowing that you will get over them. For example, if you can’t go out due to financial constraints, you’ll instead look for money than asking for help from your parents or relatives.
- Free communication: Practicing self love will make you realize who you are and what you want to achieve. After knowing yourself, you will have a candid conversation with anyone on how you want to relate to them.
- Self-confidence: Self love will help you trust in yourself. For instance, you don’t have to do things to please people, and you care less about their opinions as long as what you’re doing is right.
- You’re more comfortable during bad times: Self love makes you be more optimistic knowing that you will get over difficult moments in your life.
- Ability to count on yourself first: Through self-compassion, whenever you face challenges, you can handle them independently without seeking any help. Therefore, if you think that what you are doing is good despite societal expectations, don’t give up; trust that your actions will result in success.
- Better healthy living: Self-love can make you eat the right diet and do exercise to enhance your well-being. Therefore, if you’re practicing these, ensure that you continue eating balanced nutrition, and also observe the consistency in your workouts.
- Better control over your life: Ability to choose how and when you want to live. For example, you can make decisions regarding your long term relationships because you have confidence in yourself
Implementing Self Love
If you’re struggling to achieve self love, you can easily do it by adopting the five relationship languages as proposed by Chapman. The following is a brief highlight of them.
- Practicing words of affirmation: To affirm means to encourage, or to support yourself. Always meditate about self love and remind yourself that you’re right all the time. Next, list all your strengths and your achievements. Finally, ensure that your self-conversation is positive and motivating.
- Serve yourself through actions: If you want to love yourself ideally, do things on your own that can elevate yourself worth. For example, shop and prepare food without any help.
Ensure that you create a conducive environment in your residence for your comfort. Next, take care of your health by regularly visiting a hospital for medical checkups.
Lastly, strive to groom yourself with excellent attire that can make you look and feel good.
- Gift yourself: Budget on how to buy gifts for yourself that can make you feel motivated. There are many ways you can gift yourself. For instance, if you’re a marketing manager, you can further your studies to enhance your skills. In case you’re a content writer, you can also enroll for any course that can advance your ability in writing.
- Manage your quality time: Remember that time wasted is never found, and, therefore, set aside adequate hours to meditate about yourself. Think about how you can fit in society and be loved the way you’re. Also, create time for exercises or other hobbies for your leisure and enjoyment. Finally, make sure that you set aside adequate time for sleep.
- Touch yourself physically: You can feel self love by practicing so many things. For instance, getting facial massage, manicure, and pedicure services can make you feel excited. You may also implement daily self love practice by cultivating a culture of occasionally looking yourself into a mirror to adjust anything that isn’t in order with your appearance.
How To Love Yourself as a Woman
In life, the term self-love is easily mentioned than practiced. Being in love with yourself means treating yourself better than you would do to others.
Women find it challenging to practice self love on their own volition. However, in some scenarios, circumstances have forced them to implement self-compassion. For instance, as a woman, when you’re menstruating, you will have to take care of yourself by observing hygiene to look good and feel comfortable. This is an example of instances where every woman demonstrates self care by attending to herself in all aspects.
As a woman, loving yourself comes with a lot of benefits. For example, self love can make you feel worthy, and it can also improve your relationships with others. In case you want to build a long-term relationship that can lead to marriage, then start loving yourself first.
The following are five things that can help you know how to love yourself.
- Avoid being negative: The best way you can appreciate yourself is when you stop being pessimistic. Therefore, if you want to foster better relationships with your friends and colleagues, stop being negative and instead be positive.
- Show kindness to yourself: Treat yourself the same way you take care of someone whom you love.
- Rejoice by having fun: Engage in something that can entertain and uplift your spirit.
- Always look into the mirror: By using the mirror, it shows that you’re concerned about your looks due to the love you have for yourself.
- Commend yourself: To enhance self love, reflect on your past and present successes, and then praise yourself for the achievement you have made so far.
What do you need help with?
(Choose between the 2 options)
Ways to Practice Self love
Practicing Self Love and Self Care
Self love and self care are two essential and distinct aspects you need to understand. Before we go any further, it is vital that get the difference between the terms.
Self love entails treating yourself better than you would do to other people. It is about realizing that you’re important and accepting yourself both physically and emotionally.
Self-care, on the other hand, encompasses creating time out of your busy schedule to look after yourself. For instance, if you’re working, taking a break of 20 minutes to relax or refresh yourself can help you have a peaceful mind.
Practicing self love after a breakup can help you accept yourself and feel worth despite the ordeal you’ve undergone through. During this challenging time, you need to practice words of affirmation. What do I mean? This is the time to think about self love and to remind yourself that you’re beautiful despite the circumstances you’re in.
Below is a highlight of five of tips for practicing self love and self care.
- Set aside some time for yourself: If you care about yourself, then you must create time to relax, meditate, or take a walk.
- Cultivate a culture of exercising: There are so many exercises you can engage in to elevate yourself. For instance, you can lift some weights, join aerobic classes, swim, play football, and many more. Also, don’t forget to do yoga poses for loving yourself.
- Utter lovely words about yourself: You know yourself, and you’re aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Focus on what you think is positive and mention about five things that you adore about yourself. You may talk to them with your friends or colleagues.
- Demonstrate gratitude: Evaluate yourself and come up with at least three things you’re grateful for. For example, if you’ve a beautiful face, you need to thank God for that.
- Take plenty of water: Although water intake is essential, many people don’t drink the recommended volume daily. It is advisable that you take at least eight glasses of water per day. Why is this important? Water is life, and without adequate intake, your body’s metabolic activities will be affected.
Self Love Examples You Need to Know
Self love is vital, and if you can’t implement it, nobody would help you either. The following examples will help you get a better perspective of self love and know how to practice it.
- Being conscious of your body weight: In the contemporary world, body fitness is vital not only for your beauty but also for your health and wellness. Therefore, enrolling for gym workouts is the best thing you can do to manage your weight.
- Furthering your education: Are you satisfied with your current level of education? Do you feel there is a need to upgrade your qualifications? It is vital to add more knowledge to enhance your skills and also increase your chances of promotion at your company.
- Building and maintaining a friendship with many people: As human beings, we need people whom we can relate with. Therefore, if you want to feel motivated, you must have friends who can encourage you during low moments.
- Clean and renew your households: Ensure that your residential house is well cleaned and conducive for you. Also, get rid of obsolete items that might be reminding you of your negative past.
- Avoid comparing yourself with other people: If you’re genuinely in love with yourself, appreciate and accept the way you’re. Contrasting and thinking that other people are more critical will make you disregard yourself.
Importance of Self Love
It may be hard to practice self love unless you know its importance. Self love is very crucial in so many aspects. For instance, a psychological research shows that self compassion can improve your mental health and make you manage depression and anxiety.
It is vital to note that loving yourself doesn’t mean hating other people and staying lonely; it encompasses appreciating and feeling at ease with who you’re. Therefore, by implementing daily self practices, it confirms that you care for yourself before others come to help you.
To sum up!
Practicing self love is vital because it will help you lead a healthier and fulfilling life. It is crucial to bear in mind two important aspects regarding the implementation of self-compassion. First, you need to understand the meaning of self-love, and second, you have to practice it.
Understanding self-love requires that you know what self love means, how you can find it, reasons why you need it, how you can implement it, and how to love yourself as a woman.
Practicing self love might sound simple but become difficult to implement. You can practice self love by doing simple things that are vital in your life. For instance, set some time aside for your leisure, exercising, mentioning lovely words about yourself, and being grateful.
Much has been mentioned about self love and how significant it is to your life. However, before we end this post, here are some questions to ponder! Do you know that self love is part of the solutions for coping with relationships breakups? Are you aware of the downsides of self love? 🙂
To a self-loved YOU! 🙂
