What could be better than having a super power that may heal you, empower you and transform your life? And that super power is self-love – when you start practicing self-love, you start living up to your values, your self-confidence boosts, you become super-resilient and so on…
Self-love is not only about how you treat yourself, it also encompasses positive thoughts and feelings about yourself. It means accepting yourself fully, treating yourself with respect and kindness and working for your own improvement and well-being.
So, how to cultivate self-love in your life? Here are 6 powerful tools to practice self-love
- Be grateful to yourself
Everyday remember those things you are grateful for – write them down, and think about why you do you feel thankful for them. Those things can be small, monumental, boring, exciting, static or ever changing. That does not mean you must stop following your moods and your phases in life – do follow them. But whatever the circumstances are, find gratitude in your everyday life – for small things or tiny accomplishments as well as for big things or great accomplishments
Connect the gratitude to your values. What makes you feel proud of yourself? What compels you get out of your comfort zone and keep going? Be grateful for all great things in your life, as often as possible. Spread gratitude to others as well though it’s more important to focus to be thankful for your own qualities and determination, it’s equally important to show gratitude to those who support you.
Have you ever written a gratitude letter to someone in your life? If not then do it now – the people around you have profound effects on your own self-worth and when you will acknowledge by letting them know, you will move one step forward to strengthen your relation with them as well as with yourself.
- Use Affirmations
Words are very powerful. When you use them, your words not only influence others, but also transform your internal state profoundly. Affirmations are positive statements that direct your conscious as well as subconscious mind, changing previously existing unhealthy and negative thinking patterns. When you speak them with conviction, these affirmations alter your thoughts, emotions, beliefs and even behavior. When you use them intentionally to bring change, they help you to project into your achievements.
Research about neural activity supports the idea that speaking positive affirmations have a positive effect on self-perception. So, be careful about what you speak to yourself. Use kind and encouraging words, be your own back and support yourself when your inner critic tries to degrade you.
Adopt a habit of saying as many positive affirmations per day as possible, the best deal is to start with three affirmations a day. You may create your own affirmations spontaneously based on how do you feel on that day or that moment or choose from some positive affirmations like: I am worthy of love, I am enough, I am beautiful. Repeat them as often as possible – the more you repeat them, the more you’ll believe in them.
- Practice Self-Care
Anything that you do for your own well-being is in the domain of self-care. Here are some examples of practicing self-care:
- Boost your health: Get enough sleep; eat healthy and balanced diet; take enough water
- Learn to deal with stress: Avoid stress triggers; limit your screen time i.e. reduce time spent on social media and avoid other digital distractions; change what can be changed and acknowledge & learn to live with that can’t be changed
- Get out of creative envy: Don’t feel guilty about not being productive when you see other’s work
- Relax and don’t underestimate the power of small things: Read books; watch movies or your favorite show; enjoy music; play games
- Meditate and go for exercise: Go for a walk; practice yoga; do some stretches to improve blood circulation; go for hiking
- Connect with your friends: Have a meal with your friends; play games or connect online
- Try something creative: Try something you are fond of like sketching; drawing, painting, writing, cooking, baking or some DIY (do it yourself) work.
- Concentrate on grooming yourself: Get a massage, have a nice haircut, give yourself a manicure or a pedicure.
- Celebrate your victories
Celebrate your success, because when you will celebrate it, you will value it and valuing it will boost your self-love. When you value your success, you learn and adapt; you find what’s working well; you get inspiration from it and replicate it into other actions. Moreover, you develop a success mindset; your motivation keeps on boosting; and most importantly you feel good about yourself. When we celebrate success, we feel good, dopamine releases into our brain – it’s important for mental health. And celebrating our success lets us share this success with others too and it becomes a source of motivation for them.
- Run your own race
Remember, you are completely unique, no one in this world resembles you, not even your twin having his or her own set of fingerprints. Also realize that each person does what he or she is capable of in his or her own evolution and journey. Comparing yourself to someone else is totally useless. Instead of competing with others, embrace your own journey and keep in mind you will learn at each and every step along this journey. No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes and gains experiences along their life journey; everyone has different strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. So, recognize your strengths and work on it; by recognizing them, you will value your capabilities and valuing your capabilities is one of the forms of practicing self-love.
- Practice Louise Hay Mirror Work
Mirror work for boosting self-love was originally presented by a spirituality teacher Louise Hay. It helps to reconnect with your inner child and helps you connect with your soul. The main procedure is to stand in front of a mirror say affirmations loudly; you may choose from a list of affirmations or create your own. Then repeat your affirmations with strong feelings and accept all those emotions that arise at that time. And finally record your discoveries. You will have to practice this technique daily to cultivate self-love – this is the simple and most powerful technique to practice self-love
Well, you can start practicing self-love today by adopting these simple but powerful tools. When you will start loving yourself, you will love others too because how can you love others when you don’t love yourself.
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