Be your own Valentine this month and gift yourself some love.
Self- love is a choice. It’s about how you view yourself and how you treat yourself.
Research has shown that self-love is associated with less anxiety and depression, the ability to bounce back from stress, a more optimistic outlook and healthy behaviour changes.
Invest in yourself by doing things that promote self-love, it can take some practice, so check out these seven powerful strategies for practicing self-love.
1. You can start by focusing on being someone who loves. Focus on what you love and appreciate about other people around you.
2. Practice self-care, that’s anything to do with your physical, mental, or emotional health. Being mindful will help steer your thoughts from the past or future by focusing on the present. Meditation, breathing, journaling and gratitude for right now are some simple ways of practicing mindfulness.
3. Accept and appreciate yourself, let go of criticism and comparison, and be kind and positive to yourself. Self-esteem, is about how you see yourself, and your perception
of your worth. Have truest confidence and pride in your abilities. When you have a negative thought about your worth, question it, reassure yourself, and shift your focus toward what you have achieved already and for want you want to reach for in your life.
4. Respect yourself, by setting boundaries. Setting physical and emotional boundaries allows you to manage how you treat yourself and how others treat you. Prioritise your needs, make time for yourself, and learn to say “NO” without guilt. Surround yourself with positive, happy, people you feel good with, and “ask for help” when you need it.
5. Practice self-acceptance and positive self-talk: Be kind and speak to yourself like you would your own best friend. Notice how you are feeling, accept how you are feeling, pause, and notice where in your body the feelings show up. Think about your feelings from an outsider’s perspective. If you saw someone else feeling like this, how might you encourage them and offer the same to yourself.
6. Forgive yourself. Understand your mistakes, understand your losses, and effectively communicate with yourself without judging or self-punishment. Think about what it will take to forgive yourself. If you make a mistake decide what action, you can take to make it right in your own eyes. Speak kindly and encourage yourself to take that step toward forgiveness.
7. Trust yourself, face up to your commitments, build ability to trust your intuition and follow your own inner guidance. Respect your dreams and thus yourself .Take baby steps to create the life you long for. Desires are powerful. Taking action to turn those dreams into reality is how you can honour and care for yourself. By taking daily actions, you signal that you’re worthy of living the life you desire.
“The absence of self-love can never be replaced
with the presence of people’s love for you.”
Edmond Mbiaka.
See yourself as the breathtakingly beautiful human that you are, with all your imperfections. Let your love for self, ripple out into the world. Start implementing some of these practices and have compassion with yourself when you fall short. Kindly brush yourself off and get back into it again. Know that by caring for yourself, your actions will ripple out and have an effect on others.
“Self-love, self-respect, self-worth: There’s a reason they all start with ‘self.’
You can’t find them in anyone else.”
~Unknown