This is an overview on how to love yourself. To struggle with self love and judgment is to be human. We make mistakes, learn lessons, grow and do it all over again. It is part of why we are here.
I am here to tell you that it is okay to have moments of being down on yourself. But then come to this post and find inspiration to change your mindset.
Here are some tips to love yourself.
1. Start by grounding yourself in this moment.
Take a deep breath. Close your eyes, get comfortable. Now take another deep breath. And another one. Again.
Breathwork is your friend. Allow your body a moment to just be, to realize you are okay and are right where you are supposed to be.
Here is the lesson: Whatever you are going through in your life, you are exactly where you are and who you are supposed to be at this exact moment in time.
2. Write a list of what you love and admire about yourself.
You are you. You know yourself better than anyone on Earth.
Here is a lesson I had to learn: If I want love in my life, then I need to love myself first and foremost. This is true for you, too, so get to it. There is literally no time like the present!
Write a list of what you love and admire about yourself. Or write a letter to yourself sharing all you are proud of and love about yourself.
Go ahead and gush. Be ostentatious. Do not hold back. Be loud and proud of exactly who you are.
3. Seek out a friend. Ask them what they love about you.
Sometimes friends and family can be a helpful mirror for what we have trouble seeing in ourselves.
Ask someone you love and trust to share what they love about you.
Bonus points if you turn around and tell them what you love about them, too. Self-love helps us to show love and affection for others in our lives -- spread the love and you WILL feel it come right back to you.
4. Know that you do not know everything yet.
Especially at down moments, it can feel like you have lost your way.
Back to number one – you are right where you are supposed to be at this moment in time. You do not know what this moment in time is going to bring...yet.
You do not know everything yet. You are not supposed to. You are meant to have this experience to lead you to something bigger and better in your path.
Allow the moment. Then hold on and look back on your life with curiosity. Can you see where you had a challenging time and it led to an awakening or something greater than you could have imagined?
Ask yourself what you are supposed to learn now and how it may speak to what you are learning in this part of your life.
5. Invest in "you" time.
You are the most important person in your life (duh). Let me say it again and shout it from the rooftops: YOU ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE.
Explore what makes you happy and DO IT. Life is worth living in a full, happy way.
Stop coming up with reasons why you cannot make the time. One of the best ways to learn to love yourself is to explore and imbibe in the things that make you feel more like you.
6. Quiet the judgment.
Is someone judging your favorite activities, questioning your self-love list or are you telling yourself if you only did XYZ (insert self-judgments: lost weight, weren't lazy, put yourself out there, deal with difficult people in your life, etc.), THEN you could love yourself?
Judgment is of the ego. I write about this a lot, because it has been a JOURNEY to recognize the difference between my ego and intuition. It has also been a journey to let other people have their judgments and not take them on as my own.
Practice. If you enjoy something, do it. If you feel joy, chase that feeling. Do what fills your heart and soul and tell your ego and other people with their judgments to keep it to themselves.
7. Remember that all will be okay in the end.
If it is not okay, then it is not the end. Give everything time and start to practice self love. Remind yourself you are learning. But get to it. Love yourself now in this moment and in all moments.
Let the waves of life roll through and learn to ride the waves. This is what I am chasing and I hope this for you, too.
Journal prompt: What do you love about yourself? What activities do you like to do that bring you joy? What activities or hobbies would you like to try that are all about you?