4 Simple Ways to Practice Self-Love

4 SIMPLE WAYS TO PRACTICE SELF-LOVE

Self-love is difficult. It can be hard to appreciate yourself, to put yourself first and to boost your own morale, especially in a modern era which actively pushes against these things. But importantly, you don’t need to spend lots of money or carve hours out of your day to practice self-love. One of the most effective ways to incorporate something into your every-day life is to start slow, by gradually building it into each day, then the habit of practicing self-love will soon form.

Below are four ways in which you can begin your journey to self-love. And the best thing is – they are all simple and quick to do. So, without further ado, let’s begin…

1. PRACTICE MINDFULNESS WITH YOUR OWN THOUGHTS

Recently, I completed a women’s self-development course at my university, and one of the topics that repeatedly came up was the importance of mindfulness. Put simply, mindfulness is the ability to pay attention to your inner thoughts and the world around you. Often, our inner thoughts can be the most destructive and self-critical, and so it is important to squash these before they manifest into something much bigger.

To stop myself from allowing one negative thought to spiral into a day of negativity, I like to take a few moments to look at the bigger picture. I remind myself that this is just a temporary emotion of where I lack confidence or have low self-esteem, and that this feeling is not reflective of me as a person.

Another method to try in order to be more mindful is to think of two things to be grateful for before you go to sleep at night: something you appreciate that your mind has done, such as completing an essay, as well as something that you appreciate your body has done such as sport or a short walk.

2. USE AFFIRMATIONS IN MOMENTS WHERE YOU LACK CONFIDENCE

At first, these may feel uncomfortable to say out loud, but they are a great way of reinforcing positivity and self-love. You might want to try writing them down a few times in a journal at first, and then building up to saying them aloud. Some empowering affirmations include:

I love the person that I am and the person I am becoming.

I deserve good things.

I am grateful for my mind, my body, and my soul.

3. WRITE A SUCCESS SHEET

Something I have been trying out recently is a ‘success sheet’, a page in a journal where you document your successes. These don’t have to always be huge - it can be as simple as a compliment or a good score on a test. In times of doubt, you can look back at your success sheet and see just how much you have achieved. Often in life, we can take our successes for granted, and these sheets are a great way of reminding you just how far you have come.

4. TAKE TIME FOR JUST YOU… AND ONLY YOU

A lot of the time, there can be pressure to socialise and constantly be in the company of others. But ultimately, it’s important to feel comfortable on your own, too. After all, one of the most important things about self-love is to feel comfortable in your own skin - and what better way to do that by spending time with just you? Take some time out to watch a movie, run a bath or go on a walk - don’t feel as though you have to do absolutely everything with other people!

As I’ve mentioned before in my posts, self-love and confidence are traits which require a lot of perseverance to improve. Some of these tips may not work for you, and that’s completely fine. Try them all out and see which ones make you feel more positive about yourself. It may be a challenge at first, but eventually some of these tips will work themselves into your life.