Emotional Self Care 101: How to Love Yourself
Key takeaways
Be a constant: Become a person you love by constantly showing yourself love and radiating that energy to the world.
Take action: You will find the most self-love by participating in walks of life that bring you the most happiness.
Support yourself: The emotional self-care you are providing by loving yourself is a personal goal and personal journey.
Finding Self Love
In our busy worlds we each have constants. These constants are pieces in our lives we know we can rely on and bring us happiness. Would you consider yourself a constant in your life? Can you rely on yourself and bring your life happiness? Providing yourself with the resources you need to succeed start with one simple thing: loving yourself. Self-love comes from within you. The way in which you think about and portray yourself have weight on both how you are perceived by yourself and others. Learning to love yourself starts with an easy change in your energy. If you don’t want to spend time with yourself, why should other people want to spend time with you? Compose your energy to radiate a positive atmosphere that is much more enjoyable to live within. This shift in yourself will bring the biggest outward change, people can tell when you are thriving. With this energy shift, remember to cut the comparison. You’ll never be fully happy with yourself if you continue to compare. Loving yourself is about accepting who you are and enhancing those qualities, not changing them. With that in mind, today’s emotional self-care 101 will have you elevating who you already are into a person you constantly love.
To really start loving yourself, you need to prove it! The phrase “show don’t tell” perfectly aligns with this concept. Adopt an attitude of gratitude and practice it towards yourself. You can always say you treat yourself, but it means nothing if there are no kind actions attached. All the love you show towards your best friend, partner, or parents should be the same level of quality you show love to yourself. Starting to praise yourself in the same regard you love other people will eventually show yourself how important you are. Breaking any detrimental habits, and starting fresh, can help in this new perspective. If you’ve always disliked your hair or the way your shoulders look in a tank top, try to not criticize yourself for these qualities anymore. Instead, focus on qualities in yourself you know you love such as your smile or collarbone. This small shift in how you speak about yourself will make a huge difference in your composure and comfortability in your own skin.
Lifestyle Goals
Another big aspect in loving yourself is loving what you do. Always take the actions that are going to make you happy. This connects back to cutting the comparison. It is not about what others think or what makes them happy—only what will be most beneficial to you. Disconnecting with people who don’t share the same outlooks as you may be the most difficult step in your self-love journey. However, the outcome will be the most rewarding. It truly feels as if a weight has been lifted from your shoulders when your inner circles engage in likeminded goals. Engaging in activates that are best suited for your lifestyle can also contribute to your emotional journey. It is not fair to hold ourselves back from the places we long to be or the hobbies we want to try. Wherever the voice in the back of your head says you need to be, listen! It could be the best, or worst, decision of your life. The thing is, you’ll never know until you try. Giving into those “what ifs” shows you are listening to yourself. Listening equals loving.
Within your lifestyle, remember to nourish yourself in a way that is positive for your goals. Eating healthy and exercise are always going to be important constant components to an uplifting life. Your job for self-love is to make sure these elements enhance your life, not take away from it. Eating healthy and working out have so many different formulas to them, you are the only person who can determine what is right vs. wrong for yourself. And don’t forget to take breaks! Sometimes loving ourselves means sitting on the couch binge watching Netflix instead of hitting the gym. Your body is so much smarter than we might give it credit for, you already know what you need so make it happen.
This is your journey!
Starting your self-love journey is a big endeavor! I’m so happy you’ve come to a place that is going to support you and encourage you to be your own support. Throughout your journey allow yourself to make mistakes. No one is perfect, and it isn’t fair to believe otherwise. Ask for help if you need! Loving yourself may make you a strong and resilient person, but you also don’t have to fight all your battles alone. Self-love means you’re aware of what you can handle, and where there is room for teamwork. No matter what stage of the process you’re in, always be talking kindly about yourself. If you wouldn’t want a friend to talk rudely about you behind your back, don’t talk rudely about yourself to your own face. Be your own biggest cheerleader! Find a way to visualize your future goals and see who you need to become to achieve them. Your goals mean everything to persistence and care. Care for yourself, care for your emotions, and live a life worth loving.
