How to Practice Self-Love?

how to practice self love

How could you love someone else if you do not love yourself? If you lack the feeling of self-worth, you can’t put passion into your work. Now the question is how to practice self-love?

Most of us have this bad habit of drawing imperfections in ourselves when we look into the mirror. We often wish to have better skin or body or skin tone. We have this bad habit of complaining to ourselves. Instead, we should accept and love ourselves as we are. So do you know what can help you in combating these thoughts? Self-Love. Yes, you read it right.

Now you must be thinking about what self-love is? Self-love is a famous concept nowadays, and it is a little different for everyone. We all have different ways of loving ourselves. If you are not sure how to self-love, here is an article to help you with the same. 

What is Self-Love?

Self-love is a popular topic among millennials, especially those on social media. Self-love could be quite difficult to understand, and most people have poor ideas about it. Many people think that self-love is self-serving. But this is not true. 

Self-love is an amazing concept and is unique for everyone. Self-love refers to taking care of one’s happiness and well-being. It is simply about being aware of how you feel and learning about the things that make you happy and feel better. And the most important thing to keep in mind is that no two people are the same, so the things that make them happy can not be the same. 

However, it is essential to understand that every person deserves love and happiness. We all have the potential to be more than we know. No matter what is going on in your life and the circumstances, no one can take self-love away from you, and no one can make you feel worthless. It is essential to teach self-love to live a happy, motivated, and positive life. 

What is the Importance of Self-Love?

Now the next question is, what is the importance of self-love? Every day we are bombarded with a lot of responsibilities and stress. People keep on telling us what to do and what not. We rarely get time to sit peacefully and think. We look ourselves in the mirror and start complaining about our bodies. We all do this, but it is not the right thing to do. This is the reason why self-love is important.

You might know many people and have many individuals around you, but you are the only person who is with you all day. You are aware of your feelings and thoughts. So you can influence yourself more than any other person or thing. Therefore, it is essential to treat yourself properly. If someone keeps telling you that you are not good enough or not worth fighting for, you will surely throw that person out of your life. So, you should also not treat yourself in that manner. 

Self-love is essential to make yourself happy and satisfied. No one else can fill the role for you. The truth is that even if everyone is supporting you and giving you a lot of love, you can not succeed if you do not believe in yourself. Below mentioned are some common benefits of self-love. 

  • Self-love encourages you to make healthy choices in life. 
  • It helps in getting rid of stinking thinking.
  • It allows you to get rid of negative thoughts, which encourages positive thinking. 
  • It allows you to treat it in a better way.
  • You are responsible for your happiness, and self-love helps you stay happy. 
  • Self-love helps you in getting rid of toxic relationships.

Simple Ways to Practice Self-Love

Many times, even if we know what self-love is, we do not know enough ways to practice it, which leads to the question of how to practice self-love? 

Self-love is an amazing practice that does not require extra money or time. Here is a list of self-love practices requiring you only to replace something in your everyday life. 

The following self-love can help you create a better inner peace so that you can appreciate yourself by encouraging positive thoughts. 

Be Grateful

Having gratitude is one of the best ways to practice self-love. Many people even develop a gratitude journal, and trust me, it is a good practice to follow. It allows them to look back on their lives with hope for the future and a sense of positivity as they record the things that matter and can make a difference. 

One habit that you should replace using gratitude is complaining. Complaining leads to your focus on negative things going on in life. When we complain, we neglect all the positive things in life. It could be difficult to be grateful initially as the habit of complaining is deeply instilled in us. But trust me, the benefits are worth your time and effort. 

Be Kind

It would help if you were kind to others as well as yourself. It would help if you spoke kind words. Physically we can exercise, rest, and eat healthily. Socially you can find positive people that can support you and make you smile. Moreover, mentally we can speak kind words to ourselves. This practice will allow you to replace the negative thoughts about yourself.

Be Intentional

Being intentional means you should notice your thought process. Analyzing your thoughts can help you in finding out methods to change them. This method is effective as it provides you with power over your thoughts. It is good to be aware of your thoughts. If they make you feel capable and strong, keep thinking about them. However, if your thoughts make you feel low, try to think about something else. Being intentional is a good thing, and the best part is that it costs you nothing. Instead, it helps you find new and healthy ways of thinking. 

Be You

We live in a world where people often pretend to be something else. And I find it exhausting. It is important to understand that you are you due to certain reasons. We all are unique in our special way. We all have special abilities and talents, and we should strive to enhance those attributes and abilities. Instead of wasting time trying to change things that should not be changed, you should focus on improving your abilities. 

Opt for Positivity

No matter how depressed you are, it is profoundly essential to be positive. It is important for self-love. Positivity does not mean that you need to fake happiness all the time. It simply means understanding that everything will work out. You can follow practices on motivating yourself when depressed to stay motivated, happy, and positive.

We all go through difficult times, but it is essential to remember that it will get better. It is natural and completely okay to feel annoyed, sad, overwhelmed, mad, or frustrated. The actual problem arises when these emotions restrict you from what you can achieve. Read motivation books, and they will encourage you to attain your best.

Declutter Your Friendship

Decluttering friendship requires a lot of thinking. Go through your friend list and decide which friends are worth keeping. It would help if you always surrounded yourself with positive people and made you feel good about yourself. 

While choosing friends, ask yourself these questions. Do they support you? Do you feel happy around them? Do they encourage you to stay positive? You should avoid spending time with people who demotivate you and don’t make you better. 

Stop Comparing Yourself With Others on Social Media

Agree or not, we all have done this. We all have compared ourselves with one or another person on social media. We often check profiles of different personalities to check their new photoshoot, shopping stories, and party stories. And then we start comparing ourselves with them, which makes us feel worse. 

Do you think this is right? No, it is not. Always remember that everything on social media is not true. Those pics do not always tell the true story. And trust me, everyone has bad days. 

Do Things You are Good At

It is one of the best self-esteem boosters. And even if it can not boost your self-esteem and self-love, then nothing in this world can. Participating in activities where you are good can be the best way to enhance self-esteem. It will boost your endorphins and help you bring the best version of yourself. If you love to cook, then cook. If you love to sketch, do it, and if you love to walk, grab your best pair of shoes, head outside and walk. 

Practice Brain Dump

Are you one of those people who has a lot of thoughts running through your mind all the time? Write them all on paper. All you need to do is spend 20 minutes every day writing your thoughts in a diary. Get a pen and paper and write down everything that keeps on running in your mind. Pay your credit card bills, ask your best friend to go on brunch with you, tell your boss about your new idea, and write down everything in your head. 

Celebrate Your Tiny Victories

Do not forget to celebrate whenever something good happens. Celebrating does not mean you have to throw a party or purchase something expensive. All you need to do is grab a bottle of champagne and enjoy your alone time. You can also invite a friend to a movie night. Watch your favorite web series on Netflix. You can also watch romantic comedies or sci-fi movies to enjoy and celebrate your tiny victories.

You can go out to dinner and go on a long drive. Celebrating will boost your morale and self-esteem. It will encourage you to do better things and make you more positive. 

Learn to Say No to Things that You Don’t Want

Keep in mind that it is always okay to no. You disrespect yourself by saying yes to something when you want to say no. Stop doing this. You do not have to disrespect yourself. 

If you want to say no to something, feel free to do so. You have all the right to express your feelings and make your decisions. You do not have to do something because of peer pressure or someone else wants you to do something. 

Practice Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is concentrating on the food you are eating while doing so. Instead of watching movies, or web series on your phone or laptop, pay attention to your food. Analyze how it tastes, the best part of this food, and more. It might sound weird, but it will teach you to appreciate things. Moreover, it will also keep you from overeating mindlessly. 

Create a Mantra for Self-Love

It is always good to create a mantra whenever you feel low. It will help you to boost your confidence and self-esteem. Some of the ideas that you can include in your mantra:

  • I am worthy of love.
  • I am enough.
  • I am good at things that I do.

Pamper Yourself

If you feel low, nothing can be better than pampering yourself. Wear your favorite outfit. Stop saving them for any special occasions. A beautiful outfit can make you feel happy. If in the mood of doing rest, then take a nap. Sometimes, an extra nap is all you need. It will make you feel better. 

You can also grab favorite oils, a jade roller, and give yourself a massage. You can also give yourself a facial massage or a neck massage, or a hair massage. There are varied self-massage videos on Youtube. Pampering yourself is always a good idea to boost your self-esteem and positivity. 

Find Your Happy Place

Think of a place that allows you to be simple and just you. Sit at the place and stop thinking about your unpaid work or due bills. Just sit there calmly, enjoy alone time, embrace the surroundings. Finding your happy place will boost self-love. 

Develop a Habit Tracker

It cannot be easy to develop healthy habits as it takes time. But you can start it and continue this by developing a habit tracker. It will allow you to track your habits. You can do this by keeping notes, putting in a bullet journal, or making a day planner. 

Explore Your Spirituality

Trust me; faith is the base for self-love. Whether you are religious or not, you should believe in something that opens up your soul to the world and the beauty of trust and belief. It will allow you in developing intuitions and will 

Seek Out Professional Help

If you cannot teach self-love in your life, then it would be better to seek professional help. You could talk to a doctor, therapist, or counselor. You can also have a word with career, motivation, or life coach. It is not weak or awkward; trust me, it is completely fine to ask for professional help. 

Final Words

Life can be hard sometimes. It is full of ups and downs. However, no matter what is going on outside, we can still develop a strong foundation based on self-love. You can follow the instructions mentioned above on practicing self-love, which can prove helpful to you. Do share your experience with us by dropping a comment. 

 

Rashmi