There’s an old psychologists’ cliché; ‘you have to love yourself before you can expect others to love you.’ There is a grain of truth in this; it’s much easier to be around someone who is ‘happy in their own skin’, to quote another cliché. But loving yourself isn’t always that easy and we all feel down and negative about ourselves from time to time.
Here are just 10 ways to start loving yourself more.
1. Celebrate your past
This is a tricky one to start with. There are things in our past that we really don’t want to celebrate. Think about it like this: everything that happened in our past made us who we are today, so embrace and celebrate that past; without it you simply would not be you!
2. Indulge in your desires
Now, obviously not every desire ought to be indulged in, but it’s important to recognise what makes you happy, what inspires you and what sends little shivers or pleasure running through you. By doing this you will make it easier to see the ways in which you are unique and will help you to focus on what makes you truly happy.
3. Let go of your mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your job is, what you look like; we all make mistakes. Rather than dwelling on what went wrong, accept that you messed up; learn from what you did wrong and move on with your life secure in the knowledge that you won’t make the same mistake again.
4. Transform your mindset
Unfortunately, it’s usually easier to talk yourself down than it is to lift yourself up but if you really want to learn to love yourself, you have to change this mindset. Seek out the positive things about you and your life instead of the negative and everything else will fall into place.
5. Embrace your future
Sometimes life can feel pretty rubbish. You feel dissatisfied with your life and unhappy with yourself. Give yourself a break and realise that you have a great future ahead of you. Concentrate instead on what you have to look forward to and remind yourself that you can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it.
6. Dive into your passion
Everyone has a passion; something they love to do or that really matters to them; a hobby, a loved one, whatever. Focus on this. Embrace it. Run with it. One of the most effective ways of learning to love yourself is to concentrate on what really makes you happy and do it.
7. Live in the moment
It’s important to live in your moment; by doing so you accept what is and this is best way of loving yourself. If you focus too much on the past or the future you are not loving yourself NOW.
8. Sing your own praises
It’s against human nature to toot your own horn but it really okay to do so every now and then. Tell yourself just how great you are; what an amazing job you did at work, how you accomplished something you never thought you would. Celebrate yourself and your achievements; and love yourself for it.
9. Listen to your own ideas
To love yourself you must believe in yourself and trust yourself. Your thoughts and ideas are valid, even though they may seem ridiculous. You don’t have to act on them, but always listen to them.
10. Appreciate your life
So, there are some things about yourself that you’d like to change; your body, your relationships, your life. That’s fine, everyone wants to change things. But stop focusing on what you’re dissatisfied with and look instead at everything you wouldn’t change.
Learning to appreciate all that you have in your life is one of the best ways to remember that you are so very lucky to be you.