Positive Vibes: Love Yourself
Why is loving yourself, being kind to yourself, and finding ways to take care of yourself so difficult? I definitely don’t do this enough and yet, I know I should.
These days, ideas around self-love are everywhere you look. Scroll through Insta or watch a few videos on TikTok and find someone talking about ways to love yourself. I do love these messages but it’s not always easy to practice.
So I decided to write about self-love because, well, it’s something I struggle with. And I hope that researching it, writing about it, and sharing it with you I’ll find ways think differently about myself.
So what have I learned about self-love?
Self-love is hard. I see some form of LOVE YOURSELF language everywhere, but it doesn’t always help me actually love myself. Self-love is linked to self-esteem, meaning, having the ability to see ourselves as a flawed, imperfect individuals and still hold ourselves in high regard. It’s that ability to NOT feel that mad shame or self-hatred even when we screw up. It’s trying new things knowing that we could fail, without thinking of yourself as a complete failure.
But thinking this way isn’t easy to do. We’re complex, emotional, humans, right?
In a world that continues to tell us we aren’t good enough, smart enough, aren’t heard or seen enough, it becomes a relentless spiral of sad feelings. And here we are trying to maintain a constant state of ‘getting by.’
Self-love is a state of appreciation for oneself that grows from actions that support our physical, psychological and spiritual growth. It means having a high regard for your own well-being and happiness and taking care of your own needs instead of sacrificing your well-being to please others. Self-love means not settling for less than you deserve.
How can we practice self-love?
Reading and talking about self-love is the easy part, however putting it into practice is the step I keep missing. So, I found some ideas to start helping me love myself more. And hopefully these help you love YOU more too.
Prioritize yourself. Whatever this looks like for you, be sure to practice it. Try putting yourself first in as many situations you can.
Give yourself a break from self-judgement. When you look in the mirror and feel disappointed or loathing, try turning the story around. Remind yourself that you’re perfect just as you are – flaws and all!
Practice self-care. Take care of your basic needs, pamper yourself, practice healthy activities like nutrition, exercise, and good sleep. Also, treat yourself to something special now and again. Whether a massage, mani/pedi, a quiet cup of coffee alone – whatever it is, just treat yourself.
Be mindful. Focus on being aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment and try it without judgement.
Complete an act of kindness. There’s something about doing a good deed for someone else that makes me feel better about myself.
All these are easier said than done but at a minimum, just try giving yourself a hug and try to feel the love for yourself.
What am I going to do different, now?
Moving forward, when I’m in moments of self-hatred, when feel like I’m not good enough, smart enough, or I can’t do this anymore, I’m going to look in the mirror and say outload – HELL YES, YOU ARE ENOUGH and you can do this!
What does self-love mean to you?
Peace & Love Yourself.
Nikki