Self-love is a popular concept these days, and it looks a little different for everyone. Some people tell themselves they are beautiful or smart or capable all the time, while others take a more negative approach. The kind of self-love you have affects nearly every aspect of your life, including how you feel about yourself, how confident you are in social settings, and how likely it is that you’ll get what you want out of relationships.
So how can you create more self-love in your life? The first step is figuring out what that means for you. Once you know what makes you feel good, it’s easier to make time for those activities and thoughts. From there, it’s all about practice; the more you do things that make you happy, the better you’ll get at figuring out what you really love.
1) Start by Identifying What You Love About Yourself
Everyone has something they like or appreciate about themselves; it could be physical, like the color of your eyes or the shape of your legs, or it could be internal, like how hardworking you are or how talented you are at making others laugh. No matter what it is, start by identifying and writing down five things you love about yourself. They can be big or small, but they should be genuine things that make you feel good when you think about them.
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2) Make Time for Things That Make You Happy
Now that you know some of the things you love about yourself, it’s time to start making more time for them. This could mean penciling in regular yoga classes or committing to reading one chapter of your favorite book every night. It could also mean spending more time with people who make you feel good or taking yourself on regular date nights. The important thing is that you make a concerted effort to engage in things that energize and excite you.
Why? Because it takes your focus off of the negative stuff and helps you realize what you love about yourself. Research shows that spending time doing things we enjoy increases feelings of happiness, so it’s important not to neglect this step!
3) Practice Loving Yourself More Often
After you’ve spent some time thinking about and doing things that make you feel good, it’s important to practice loving yourself more often. Start by telling yourself one thing you love about yourself every day. Use the same kind of language as in step one (e.g., I love my eyes because they are such a pretty shade of blue) and try to say it out loud.
If you find that it’s difficult to think of things you love about yourself, don’t worry – that’s totally normal! In that case, simply repeat the phrase “I am enough” until it feels more natural. The most important thing is that you start to make a habit of being kind to yourself and taking care of yourself in a positive way.
4) Prioritize Self-Care
This isn’t to say that you have to do everything on this list, but when you are thinking about what your next steps should be, it’s important to prioritize self-care. Once you start creating more self-love in your life, there will be times when you need to take a step back and focus on yourself. This could mean taking a day off from work to relax at home or going for a long walk in nature to clear your head.
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The bottom line is that you should always make time for things that make you happy and help you feel good. When you do, you’ll find that it becomes easier and easier to love yourself more and more.
Self-love is an incredibly important part of a happy and fulfilled life. By taking the time to identify what you love about yourself, make time for things that make you happy, and practice loving yourself more often, you’ll be well on your way to creating more self-love in your life!