8 Ways To Love Yourself
Self-love has many facets and aspects to it; it involves a series of activities that when practiced together makes a strong self-loving person. But how can we learn and cultivate self-love for ourselves as individuals? What are the necessary steps or activities to practice on a daily basis to learn how to be loving towards ourselves? If you are curious, find out from a comprehensive list of 8 ways to love yourself.
Like any type of love, self-love requires a great amount of work and dedication, and like any other relationship, building a good relationship with ourselves also requires dedication. It is a continuous process; a journey if you want to put it that way. At first, it is a slippery slide, you will fall and maybe doubt yourself, however, when that happens, get up and continue because I swear it will be worth it in the end.
I have practiced all the steps written below and can attest that they do work but only if you are dedicated and practice at least one of them on a daily basis. Without further ado let’s dive in.
1. Forgive your past
There are a lot of things that happened in the past that may be holding you back and preventing you to progress in your life. It may be something that you did or didn’t do, something that happened to you; whatever it is, learn to forgive it and move on.
A lot of times we keep replaying past hurtful situations and mistakes over and over again and this makes us miserable and keeps us stuck in the past. You cannot change the past so there is no use reliving those hurtful moments or living in regrets. Forgive your past in order to live happily in the present moment.
2. Forgive everyone who has done you wrong
You have met people in your life who have hurt you; some are no longer part of it while some are very much in your life to stay. Yes, they did you wrong and if it was possible it may be fair to punish them. Some of them have apologized while others didn’t bother with an apology and others even gloat about the misery they caused you.
While your anger may be justified, it is doing more harm than good to you. Holding on to grudges is toxic to you and guess what, those people have probably forgotten or they simply don’t care. So sit yourself down and forgive those people not because they deserve it but because you deserve to live freely.
3. Forgive yourself
If you are a human being on this planet, chances are you have also done pretty shady things that you aren’t proud of. You have hurt people and haven’t apologized or you have apologized; you have allowed people to hurt you and you have put yourself in situations where you compromised your happiness and well-being.
Crucifying yourself at every chance you get doesn’t really help you but keeps you stuck in the past and prevents you from moving on. Forgive yourself, you were only learning and didn’t know any better at that time. After all, nobody came with a manual on how to navigate life.
4. Spent time alone
Aloneness or solitude is frowned upon by the majority of people, however, it is not possible to learn about yourself while you are constantly among the crowd. Therefore, learn to spend as much time with yourself as possible; this gives you the opportunity to listen to yourself, after all our inner voices are more audible in quietness.
Let your spending time on your own be planned and not something done out of convenience. Don’t spend time alone because everyone you hang out with is busy. Plan to spend time on your own; turn down plans from other people and schedule that alone time.
5. Write Your Feelings (journal)
A journal is like a loving attentive friend who will never talk smack back at you. Everything that you are feeling whenever you are feeling it, write it down in your journal. I found journalling as a good way to help me express myself.
I would write myself cute letters and whenever I could, I would check up on myself throughout the day by asking myself how I am feeling. It helped me to acknowledge my feelings without judgment and without unnecessarily doting so much on them.
6. Go on Solo Dates
I did mention the importance of being alone and scheduling alone time. Solo dates are another way to ensure that you get to spend time with yourself without any distractions. Remember it is a date so don’t distract yourself with phones or by accepting to share a table with random strangers.
This time is for you and you alone and it is meant to teach you to enjoy your own company and have fun while doing it. Dress up and go to your favorite restaurant, go for brunch or lunch at your local country club, or enjoy a night at home or have a picnic by a dam or lake. The possibilities are endless.
7. Accept Yourself
Another aspect of self-love is self-acceptance. We want people to accept and love us for who we are but for some reason, it’s hard to do this for ourselves. Drop ideas of who you wish you could be or who you wish you could look like.
Constantly comparing yourself to other people or wishing you could be someone else is demeaning to yourself and your amazingness. Accept that you are enough as you are and work towards changing areas of your life that you aren’t satisfied with. Quit wanting to be someone else because you are amazing as you are.
8. Text Yourself Every Chance You Get
I love this one very much; it is similar to journaling to a certain extent, however, it is very quick and convenient. This is how I view it, if I have a partner I talk to them constantly throughout the day or whenever time allows. I check up on them, find out how their day is going, and tell them about my day, feelings, and anything that I can think of. I use a similar principle myself.
I sent myself texts and emails throughout the day communicating my feelings with myself as much as I can. Doing this helps me to be aware of my feelings, to communicate them, and to talk to myself gently about whatever I might be feeling at that moment. Let’s say my day is going bad, I’d text myself this message, “hey babe I know you are having a rough day and it is not easy on you. Don’t stress about it very much just do what you can and it will be over soon. I love you.”
Learning self-love requires patience, persistence, and dedication because it is a process that doesn’t happen overnight. However hard as it may be, it is worth it, and practicing the steps in this article on a daily basis can help you establish a good relationship with yourself and help you become a self-loving person.
