6 Ways to Start Loving Yourself

Did you know that you have a unique purpose in this world? There is no one quite like you! Love is your birthright, and you deserve to experience it from within. Actively practicing self-love and compassion can be difficult most days, especially when our minds are weighed down by self-criticism and the desire to find wholeness in other people. Push past these limiting beliefs that you have imposed on yourself, and get in touch with the real you! If you have been wanting to start your self-love journey, but aren’t sure where to start, here are some ways to practice self-love:

Say affirmations aloud while looking at yourself in the mirror.

This will help you learn to accept yourself. An affirmation that you should be saying over and over to yourself every single day is “I love and accept myself.” This will help you reprogram your mind, which has been so used to associating negative thoughts with your appearance or personality. Having a negative self-image only makes your life harder! Replacing those pessimistic thoughts with positive affirmations will help you attract the love you want to receive. Looking at yourself in the mirror while doing this is useful because you can get a clearer picture of the resistance you may have and think critically about the ways you can combat this resistance.

Respect yourself.

Respecting yourself means setting enough boundaries so that other people don’t mess with you, but not so many that you are unable to be flexible or let anyone in. Finding balance with this can be tricky. Let the people around you know your limits and what you are and are not comfortable with. Enforcing boundaries can be difficult at first, especially if you don’t fully know yourself, what you want, or your worth. However, getting to know who you are and what you want is important if you want to be happily in love with yourself.

Mindfully eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Nourishing your body is a great way to show yourself love. Taking care of your basic needs can feel like a stretch when you’re going through a tough mental health spell, but it can make a huge difference. If it feels like a huge effort to feed yourself make that be the one thing you put effort into that day. You will find that just mindfully eating will make a huge difference in your state of mind. Without fuel, your body has nothing to go off of. Your body then responds by resorting to starvation mode, which activates your flight-or-fight response. Not eating anything gives you a poor foundation and makes it harder for you to process life. Process life with ease by practicing mindful eating. For more information, check out this video that goes more in-depth about eating mindfully!

Stop procrastinating.

Procrastination only hurts you in the long run, and not doing what needs to get done will make you judge yourself harshly, which leads to a spiral you may not be able to get out of. The repercussions of judgment are not pretty. Do not procrastinate what your future self will thank you for. There is a balance you must find between productivity and relaxation, and if you lean too far on either side, you may be harming your highest self. Treat yourself kindly and with care.

Meet your own needs.

You don’t need to isolate yourself or feel like you are alone in this world, but you do have to have the ability to meet your own needs. Looking for happiness in others is unreliable. Finding this happiness within yourself takes a lot of soul searching. This process involves being really honest with yourself and getting to know who you really are, on a much deeper level. Then, when you feel sad, lonely, or uncertain, you will be able to comfort and reassure yourself. Take responsibility for yourself rather than blaming others so you can find the solution within yourself instead of waiting on other people to fix you. Creating your own internal source of happiness will help you meet your own needs.

Do your inner work.

Don’t avoid yourself. Doing your inner work seems silly at first, especially if you don’t believe in yourself or value yourself enough to get better. Once you start doing the work, however, you start to see just how valuable you are and how important your purpose here is. Everyone has a purpose, and you can’t fulfill that purpose unless you explore both the light and the dark that lives inside you. You can journal, read articles and self-help books, listen to self-help podcasts, etc, but you may find there comes a point that you need extra assistance unraveling all that has made you the person you are. It helps to have a professional therapist guide you through it.

If you feel stuck on your healing journey, working with a therapist can help. Based on your needs, our intake specialist will help you get matched up with your perfect therapist. Click here to schedule a consultation.

Starting with a creative written voice and a BA in English from ASU, Alli Cravener has become so much more than Integrative Counsel’s voice! Not only is she a writer who is passionate about connecting concepts and content, Alli is also currently a grad student working towards her Master’s in Counseling. She is also the editor-in-chief, office manager, AND intake specialist at Integrative Counsel. When you call us, you’ll talk to Alli! Alli’s interests include painting, history, learning about other people, and wearing the color pink. She likens herself to a “mouse in a palm tree”, and she loves it that way.