Self-love is a vital ingredient to living a happy life full of gratitude and fulfillment. Self-love starts with accepting who you are, understanding that you are worthy of love, and treating yourself how you would treat your best friend.
Self-love is caring for yourself and respecting yourself. It is about loving the person you are and all that you have to offer. When we love ourselves, we create a friendship with ourselves that allows us to accept who we are and what we bring to the table.
Learning how to love ourselves does not make us selfish people. In fact, selfish people are the ones who only think about themselves. When you love yourself, you want to improve yourself so that you can be in better relationships with others.
Here are 6 ways you can learn how to build a strong and loving friendship with yourself.
1. Setting Boundaries
Setting boundaries for yourself is one of the best ways to learn how to love yourself. When you set boundaries around your emotions and your well-being, you are showing yourself respect. You allow yourself to be in a position where you can put your needs first.
Learning how to set healthy boundaries will help you create a safe space for yourself that you can find comfort in. Remember that it is okay to say no and that you are not being selfish by saying no. Often, when we say no, that means we love ourselves enough to know we are worthy of more.
Start by asking yourself what areas of your life could use some boundaries. Once you have identified these areas, you can take the steps to setting those boundaries for yourself.
If you find that you always feel drained after hanging out with your friends, maybe it is time to learn how to say no. Next time they make plans, maybe you can tell them that you cannot hang out as much, or you will only make it to every other event they invite you to.
By telling your friends how you feel about the amount of time you spend with them, you are allowing yourself to set some healthy boundaries.
Remember that by saying no when you need to, you are showing yourself the love and respect you deserve. Once you learn to respect yourself by creating healthy boundaries, you will allow yourself to thrive and truly enjoy life.
READ MORE: 15 Reasons Why Saying No is a Life Skill You Need to Learn
2. Doing Things You Enjoy (Self-Care)
One of the best ways to love yourself is by practicing self-care. What is self-care? Self-care is when you take the time to do things that you enjoy that will better your mental, physical, and emotional health.
Self-care is a continuous act of wanting to better yourself by taking care of your wants and needs. Many people confuse self-care with being selfish, so it’s important to know the difference.
There are many self-care activities that you can do to better your relationship with yourself. Maybe you love reading, so pick up a new book that you have been wanting to read.
Not only will reading give you something to do, but it will also open your mind to new thoughts and feelings. Reading can help you better understand yourself by allowing you to think about what you are reading.
You can even pick up a self-help book that can help you grow as a person. Another self-care activity you can do is going outside for a walk.
Walking will not only benefit your body by keeping you healthy, but it will also clear your mind. Think of nature as medicine that you can use whenever you are feeling anxious or stressed.
You could even try doing something you love for self-care like painting, dancing, singing, gardening, etc.
Doing things you love will make you feel happier and will increase your self-esteem. When you take time each day to do something you enjoy, you allow yourself to express your inner self.
READ MORE: 10 Healthy Habits That Can Boost Your Mental Health
3. Practicing Gratitude
Practicing gratitude is a wonderful way to love yourself and better your relationship with yourself. When you allow yourself to be grateful for the good things in life, you’ll start to see yourself in a positive light.
If you struggle with having gratitude towards yourself, try writing in a journal. Take 2-3 minutes out of your day to write down 5 things that you’re grateful for. This will train your brain to look for the good things in your life.
You can start by being grateful for the people in your life that love and support you. But once you become used to writing in your gratitude journal, you can even write down things about yourself that you’re grateful for.
This will not only allow you to see your positives, but it will also remind you of them when you need to see them the most. Make sure to keep this journal in a place where you can see it everyday as a reminder.
Another way to practice gratitude is by pausing what you’re doing to enjoy the present. Take a sip of your hot tea and enjoy how the warmth fills your body or admire how the sunset glows.
These are small things that you can do to allow yourself to become more grateful for everything life has to offer. By practicing gratitude, you allow optimistic thoughts to replace the negative thoughts you may have about yourself.
READ ALSO: 10 Simple Ways to Become a Fun Person
4. Forgive Yourself
Forgiving yourself is important when learning how to love yourself. We all make mistakes in the past, but you have to teach yourself that it is okay. If a friend of yours did the things in your past, you would forgive them, right?
You can apply the same love and compassion that you would give to your friends to yourself. Remind yourself that we are all human and we all make mistakes.
Try letting go of all the guilt and shame that you’ve been holding on to. All those negative feelings you have about yourself can lead to you doubting who you are as a person.
One way to forgive yourself is by thinking of the things you learned from your mistake. Think about what went wrong and what you can do to better yourself next time.
Remind yourself that you are not your mistakes. Ask yourself what you would tell your friend if they were feeling this way about themselves.
I can guarantee that the type of advice you give your friends are things you need to hear yourself. Be kind to yourself and work on forgiving yourself so you can allow room for positive feelings.
5. Find Things You’re Passionate About
When you take the time to find things that you’re passionate about, you allow yourself to learn more about yourself. Do things that make you happy and lose track of time because you’re enjoying yourself.
Try thinking about things in the past that you’ve always loved to do. What made you happiest? What school subjects did you enjoy? Write these things down and see if any of these things spark an interest.
Life can get busy, so you may have forgotten about some of the things you enjoy. Once you find your passions, make time for them. Allow yourself at least a couple hours a week to do something you love.
When you allow yourself time to spend doing things you’re interested in, you are allowing yourself to explore your inner self. Say you love to paint—paint yourself a picture.
Not only will painting allow you to spend time away from life’s chaos, but you’ll learn more about yourself and how you enjoy expressing your emotions through art.
Allowing yourself to do things that you enjoy will allow you to know yourself better. You’ll learn what you like and don’t like. Once you know who you are as a person, you allow yourself to love yourself more each day.
6. Be Around Positive People
In order for you to love yourself, you have to build a strong and happy friendship with yourself. When you love yourself and embrace who you are, you allow yourself to be able to love and better the relationships you have with others.
If you know how to love yourself and show yourself kindness, then you’ll know how to show others the same love and kindness. One of the best ways you can better your relationships with others is by communicating.
Learning how to love yourself will allow you to communicate with your friends, family, significant others, and co-workers more effectively.
Continue Your Friendship with Yourself
As you sit here and think about all the progress you have made with building a friendship with yourself, remember that self-love is a journey.
Every step you take closer to loving yourself is another step into furthering your relationship with yourself. Always remember to celebrate your accomplishments, even if it’s something small.
Celebrating your accomplishments will allow you to want to continue bettering your relationship with yourself. Try setting goals that you can actually reach.
If you try your best to achieve these goals, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment after you complete them. Self-love is a process, and it takes hard work.
Always remember that you have to make yourself a priority if you want to continue loving yourself. Surround yourself with people who will support you on your self-love journey.
Don’t be hard on yourself if you fall because there is always something to learn from every situation. Continue bettering the friendship you have with yourself, and remember that your journey with self-love will never end.
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