How to Love Yourself

“People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace… The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was within.” – Ramona L. Anderson.

If you have spent your life trying to please others and lost your own voice in the process, you have stumbled upon the right article. Introspection is very important for all of us. And procrastination in this matter is a big no-no for all the relationships in your life depend entirely upon the relationship you share with yourself. Though you have often heard this, but think for a minute, how many times have you actually ‘dissected’ yourself? Have you visualized your goal and made a mental “to-do list” and chastised yourself for not living up to it well enough. Being hard on your own self is good till an extent, but just like everything else, doing that in excess is probably not a good idea. Judging yourself always and unable to love your own self unconditionally is a serious issue. The article is written for you to learn the ways to go about loving yourself, because we have one life after all.

 

The whole point about making a ‘list’ is having a constant reminder in print, to jolt you back from the negative thoughts. All of us have the good and the bad within us. And when you are brooding about the ‘bad’ in you, that’s the best time to take out the list and skim through it. Just like we remind our friends about their strong points and inspire them to steer away from their weaknesses, similarly, it’s important for you to understand that you have to be your own best friend.

Yes, pampering yourself is a wonderful way to show yourself that you love yourself. Although we remember to pamper our partners or best friends, we often forget to make ourselves feel special. Taking yourself for a spa treatment or shopping will make you feel nice about yourself. A little more effort can be put in and you can prepare a special meal just for yourself or take yourself to the theatre and catch your favourite show. It’s essential that you start taking out time for yourself.

 

This is not something that we don’t know about, but most of us forget it entirely. Don’t settle down for lesser things in your life – remember that you deserve the best. And anyone or anything that comes in between has to be dealt with sternly. Put your foot down and stop taking nonsense from others around you.

 

Accepting yourself as you are is the first step to being able to love yourself. It takes courage to accept mistakes – but once that is dealt with, other things are easy. For example, if you have self destructive addictions like, smoking or drinking, become conscious. Make yourself aware about the repercussions and tell yourself that you deserve better in life. If you are trying to lose weight, try to be gentle on yourself, remember the exterior beauty is not the ‘be all and end all’ factor in your life. Being gentle also means not forcing yourself to do things that you don’t want to do. It can be anything from exercising to a job, if you don’t like it you must look for better ways. Try going for long walks or play a sport, these are equally effective ways to lose weight and lighten up. Find your passion and make sure your job is something related to it. Most importantly make yourself a priority.