Learn to Love yourself more this year. Self love is important to mental wellness and a healthy self outlook.
Contents
1. Quit Reliving the Past
You can either live in the past, or you can live in the present. You can’t live both at the same time and live a fulfilled life. Everyone has regrets, and things in their past that haunts them. No one is exempt. If your past played on a large movie screen for all to see, what would you be most ashamed of? Is it something you said? Something you did? Someone, you hurt?
Take out your journal and sit down. Now list those things that come to mind. Take the time to sit with your thoughts. Ask yourself the question, What could I have done differently?
Consider where you made your mistakes and learn from them. No matter how bad they were, you have an opportunity to do things differently in the future. Give yourself permission to move on from your mistakes and make better decisions in the future.
Just remember, there is no one on the planet that would want their past played on a movie screen for all to see. You do not have the market cornered on bad decisions. Learn from your past, don’t let it dictate your future.
2. Love Yourself Enough to Feel Like You Deserve Better
You are a beautiful soul, with a lot to offer the world. You matter. Don’t allow yourself to stay in situations where you are not living your best life.
3. Identify Where You Fall Short and Come Up With an Action Plan to Fix It
No more lip service. You have the ability to change yourself if you put in the hard work. You do not have to feel inferior anymore. Put yourself in the driver’s seat and take control. It may require a lot of hard work, but your future self will love you for it.
4. Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
We live with us every day and know our own flaws way too well. The statement, “We are our greatest critic”, definitely holds true in this case. When we look at others, we only see the physical. We may say, “Oh, she is beautiful. I wish I looked like her”, but when you do that, you are short-changing yourself. She may be beautiful, but so are you! Don’t compare yourself to others.
The things that make you beautiful are different from what makes her beautiful. It may sound corny, but you are an original. There s no one who is exactly like you, now, or will there ever be. You are it! If that’s not important enough for you, I’m not sure what will be. YOU are a Designer Original. It is okay to admire someone’s beauty, don’t discount your own while admiring theirs.
5. Give Yourself a Break
Sometimes we are kinder to others than we are to ourselves. More often than not, we place a higher value on our family and friends’ lives than we do our own. When you speak to your family and friends, are you nice to them? When they are down, don’t you speak words of encouragement to them? If they need something, don’t you make them a priority? Being kind to yourself is not as easy as it may seem. You cannot be everything to everyone. It will only burn you out. Then you are not good to yourself or anyone else. Set some healthy boundaries with the people in your life, and make sure to follow them.
6. Start Loving Yourself
I have a friend of mine. He is a really funny guy. His name is Brad. He has a saying I have heard from him a thousand times if I have heard it once. He says, “No one loves Brad like Brad loves Brad.” It is a funny statement and may be true in his case, but I think for some of us it really isn’t.
How much do you really love yourself? What do you say to yourself when you are alone? Do you minimize your feelings and elevate others? Do you see yourself as deserving less than someone else? Do you secretly hate the way you look? Do you put yourself down by believing everyone else is smart and you are stupid? Do you get angry when you look in the mirror because you have aged and you don’t recognize the person staring back at you?
Some of these questions may ring true with you, and some may not. If they don’t, kudos to you! That means you don’t, and probably have a healthy self outlook. However, for those of us that try to answer these, and many more questions like this daily, we need to do a better job at loving ourselves.
Begin to see your own beauty. Start to think about how unique, and special you are. Begin to focus on your good qualities instead of thinking about what you see as bad. Everyone has great and special qualities, what’s yours?
Are you funny? Kind? Dependable? If you can’t think of anything, start small. It will become easier with practice. Write these down in your journal, and begin to remind yourself daily that you are pretty special. In no time you will begin to see how cool you really are.
7. Create a Place of Refuge for Yourself
The world is hard. Everyone needs a place to unwind, relax, and rejuvenate. It seems like a simple concept, but how many people have really created a space for themselves they can do this in? Do you have a special place? Do you have a place you can seek refuge from the world? A place you can read, journal and relax?
If not, let’s help you find one. Get out that journal and pen, and write down a header at the top of the page that says, “My Special Place.” Now think about the things that relax you. For each one you think of, write it down on a separate bullet point. Just a few examples to get you started.
- Sound of rain- (There are sound machines or apps on your phone to simulate this.)
- Soft blankets (Fill your area with super soft throws and warm cozy blankets)
- Fluffy pillows (Goose down is always a great choice, and don’t forget the silky pillow case)
- Comfy P.J.s (They can be ugly, but they must be comfortable)
- Smell of lavender (Doterra has excellent essential oils. They are all natural and have unlimited scents to choose from
Okay, you get the idea. Now get to work on your list. Then when you are done, think about where your special place will be. Then make it happen Captain!
Leave a Reply