Ky’s 5: Ways to Love Yourself
Every day we’re reminded how important it is to “love ourselves”. If you’re anything like me, then you know how hard that can be. It’s hard because people like you and I often put up these protective walls that sometimes prevent us from embracing our true selves: our flaws, our anxiety, our imperfections… our humanness.
Because of that, it’s important, now more than ever, to enter that journey of self-love. Here are 5 tips for you to consider:
1 – Remind Yourself of the Things You Love About Yourself
You, yes YOU, are an incredible, unique person. You must embrace that. You must believe that. Yes, we all have things about ourselves that we may not be proud of, but we need to make the vital effort of being kind to ourselves.
We spend so much time looking for the potential in others, especially if you’re in the dating world like me, but we don’t spend nearly as much time looking at the potential in ourselves. Take a moment every day and remind yourself what you like about you the most.
Write down your strengths and accomplishments and revisit them throughout the day. Those are always great reminders.
2 – Stop Associating with People Who Bring You Down
I’d rather not be in a relationship than be in one that brings me down. I’m not just talking about romantic relationships, I’m also talking about friends, family, co-workers, etc.
It’s a losing effort when you give so much effort to people who simply don’t respect you. The people you surround yourself with everyday need to be people who inspire you, believe you, pick you up when you’re down, and most importantly, respect you.
This is also a good moment to point out quality over quantity when it comes to friends. Let me repeat that: QUALITY over quantity.
3 – Forgive Yourself
One of the most important parts of self-love is accepting your past. You need to learn how to forgive yourself. Accept the mistakes you’ve made and move forward.
Making mistakes does not make you a bad person. It makes you a human being… and that’s a good thing. Start by forgiving yourself and then begin to focus on what you’re going to do to move your life forward.
4 – Don’t Compare Yourself to Others
We live in a world that enjoys watching us compare ourselves to other people. To me, that’s quite annoying and I don’t allow myself to governed by comparisons… and you shouldn’t either.
If you really want to succeed in your journey toward self-love, you really need to stop comparing yourself to other people. It’s just not healthy.
5 – Do the Things That Make You Happy
Life is too short to NOT make time for the things you enjoy doing. Make an investment into the festivities that give you a sense of joy. I cannot stress this enough: self-care is not selfishness.
When you’re able to live your best life, then you’re able to give life to others as well. Never forget that. There is a vital difference between feeling ‘empty fatigue’ and feeling ‘gratifying exhaustion’.
Bonus: Live In The Moment
This is a biggie for me. One that I practice as often as possible. I am a firm believer that one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself on your journey of self-love simply being present.
Are you going to be living your life in between moments? Are you going to spend every waking moment planning the future and/or reflecting on the past? While those are important skills you can balance, living in the moment is just as important, if not MORE important. How will you be able to appreciate the plan you put in place if you don’t take a moment to live in that plan?
Final Words
Let’s be honest: loving yourself is not easy. It might even be one of the most difficult things you’ll ever do. But know that it’s 100% okay to have that struggle. And know that it’s 100% NOT okay to not try. The time to learn how to love yourself begins right now. Let’s do this.
Good Vibes,
Ky
