Love makes the world go round, but self-love is where it starts!
Is there a way to truly love ourselves 100%? Maybe, maybe not. As judgmental as we can be about others, many of us have ourselves as our own worst critic.
So, while I am also on my journey of self-love, I would like to share a few practices of mine with my readers as well.
Nourish Your Body and Mind: If you’re totally new to the practice of self-love then start with focusing on nourishing yourself. Nourishing your body and mind is the most basic form of loving yourself.
The following are a few answers to your question of ‘how to do it’:
A) Try and eat as clean as possible (I am not so good at it, but I try), the way we feed ourselves reflects how we love ourselves.
B) Sometimes treat yourself to a chocolate snack or maybe an ice cream and make time to cook yourself a nutritious meal.
C) Try and do meditation as often as possible, even 5 minutes of it can keep your mind aligned.
Be Unafraid To Express Yourself:
A) As they say ‘Just take it out of your heart’: As tempting and as clockwork it feels to use this typical response, stop saying “I’m fine” or “I’m good” when you clearly are not. You have close friends or family who are happy to be there for you, so feel free to discuss your problems or acquaintances with them.
B) The Creative Route: Just think of what makes you come alive and really connect with the deepest parts of yourself. Now go and make time for it in your life. Whether it’s dancing like nobody’s watching, singing like no-one’s listening or painting in big bold brush strokes, just for the fun of it, it’s essential that you make time to do the things that allow you to really express yourself from the heart.
Accept Your Imperfections:
One of the greatest paths to inner peace is to let go of trying to attain perfection. Recognize that everyone has faults and has made mistakes as well as had moments that they regret. When we realize this truth, we can set ourselves free from the prison of perfection, thereby choosing to learn from our past. Understand that our life cannot look like a glossy magazine or something out of a movie 24/7 – it’s just not attainable and sets us up for a lifetime of frustration and false hopes. If you struggle with comparing your life to others, I strongly recommend taking a break from social media (Facebook and Instagram in particular), it’s a breeding ground for feelings of envy and comparing your life to your friend’s and even complete strangers!
Be Gentle With Yourself:
Darling, be more gentle with yourself. Forgive yourself for not knowing better at the time. Forgive yourself for not being able to muster the strength during that time. Forgive yourself for what you have done in the past. Forgive yourself for the survival patterns and traits you picked up while enduring trauma. Forgive yourself — but be open to change the traits that have been toxic to both others and you.
Self-love is a process, one that will never be truly complete. There will always be more I could improve, more I can learn, more kindness I can show to myself and others.
And in the vein of extending that kindness to myself, I constantly need to remind myself that yes, I am deeply flawed in many ways, but that is what makes me human, and I deserve love anyway.
I really hope that this article might help some of you to fall in love with yourself more deeply and more genuinely. ️
You can reach out to Nidhi at https://www.instagram.com/livingthelifebum/
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