It may sound a bit strange to say that self-love requires effort—especially when it’s an area that has been neglected for years. Some of us have been able to practice self-love in certain areas, while others have struggled with even grasping the thought of it! The truth is, no matter where you are on your self-love journey, weaving it into your lifestyle and making self-love a part of who you are daily takes a level of intentionality. Like a muscle, self-love is something that must be exercised in order for you to experience it in fullness.
To find and stay on the beautiful, lifelong path to self-love, there are 4 effective habits you can start doing today to help guide and lead you to a lifetime of loving YOU more. You may want to grab your notebook or open a new note page on your device, because you might just find a few gems that you can hold onto (and share)!
STEP 1: Eliminate Self-Limiting Thoughts and Beliefs
“I’m not good enough”, “They’re going to think I look weird,”—these are just a few of the self-limiting thoughts and beliefs that may come to mind when we’re thinking or speaking about ourselves.
Nevertheless, it’s absolutely important that we know and recognize that that mindset and belief system didn’t start with you.
Whatever the circumstance was that triggered your negative self-dialogue, it is evidence that your environment and the relationships you are exposed to can have a big impact on how you view and even love yourself.
That’s why developing a healthy, self-loving mindset is important. Being able to see yourself from a lens of love, compassion, and understanding positions you to focus on thoughts that are uplifting and hold beliefs that aren’t critical or self-destructive.
STEP 2: Date Yourself
You’re probably thinking it sounds silly, but why not?! When we’re getting to know and love someone we want to become closer to, it’s natural to put in the effort to build that connection.
If you haven’t taken the time to know and understand who you are, what you love, the things that make you tick, and the things you desire most in life, it can hinder your ability to do the things that strengthen your relationship with yourself.
By investing in spending quality time with yourself, you begin to find ways to enjoy being in your own company. Whether you spend half an hour having an internal dialogue, journaling, or being honest and transparent with yourself, or if you decide to schedule an evening out to make reservations at your favourite restaurant and go sightseeing afterwards, these are just a few steps to building intimacy with yourself that can nurture self-love.
Some of the activities you choose to do on your “date” can also fall into the category of self-care.
STEP 3: Recite Self-Love Affirmations
There is power in the words that we speak to ourselves and as much as you may be tired of hearing about affirmations, they play a major part in shaping our internal dialogue as well as developing things such as confidence and self-esteem.
Creating a list of daily affirmations that you can recite every morning before you take on the day or every night before you wind down, can give you the dose of courage or encouragement that you need to embark on your next task or the new day.
You don’t need to believe it or feel it before you affirm it!
Put together your list of affirmations, stand in front of a mirror in a well-lit room, stand boldly, look directly at your reflection, and speak your affirmations aloud.
Make note of how you feel before and after. If you say it with confidence and conviction, you’re sure to feel a difference in your mind, body, and spirit.
When you begin doing this daily, the experience will feel a lot more natural—particularly, if you aren’t used to showing yourself love or empowering yourself in this way.
Now that we’ve identified 3 effective self-love habits that you can put into practice today, which one(s) do you plan on incorporating into your self-love routine?
If you’ve done any that weren’t listed, I’d love to hear which of them has been working for you. Feel free to share in the comments!
