Understanding Yourself
Recognize and appreciate your strengths. Everyone has something they're good at, and it's important to recognize those talents. Whether you're a great cook or have an amazing sense of humor, take time to appreciate what makes you unique.
Identify and accept your weaknesses. It's also important not to ignore any shortcomings in yourself; instead, try figuring out why these things are difficult for you and how they can be improved upon in the future (or if there's nothing that needs improving). For example: "I'm bad at math because I never learned how when I was younger." Or maybe even just "I suck at math." Either way works!
Make time for self-reflection throughout the day by asking questions like "How am I feeling right now?" or "What is my purpose?" This will help connect with who we really are by recognizing how our emotions affect us on a daily basis--and ultimately help us become better people overall!
The Benefits of Loving Yourself
The benefits of loving yourself are endless and can be achieved in a number of ways.
Self-confidence is key to success in all areas of life, but especially when it comes to dating. If you don't feel comfortable with who you are, how do you expect someone else to?
Feeling good about yourself makes it easier for others to like and respect you too!
Loving yourself means being able to accept your flaws and imperfections without feeling ashamed or embarrassed by them--and that's pretty cool!
Challenging Yourself to Love Yourself
Be kind to yourself.
Be patient with yourself.
Be mindful of your thoughts and feelings.
Taking Care of Yourself
Eat healthy and nutritious foods.
Exercise regularly.
Get plenty of sleep, at least 7-8 hours per night.
Making Time for Yourself
Set aside time for yourself. It's important to take time out of your day to connect with yourself. You might find it helpful to set aside a few minutes each morning or evening, or even make an appointment with yourself on the calendar.
Connect with yourself: Take some deep breaths and focus on what you're doing in this moment--how does it feel? Are there any emotions coming up? Is there anything you want to change about how things are going?
Practice self-care: This can be as simple as taking a walk outside or making sure that your meals include healthy foods (and no junk food). You may also want to try practicing yoga or meditation regularly; these activities help put us back in touch with our bodies and minds so we can better understand ourselves and our needs
Nurturing Yourself
You may not be able to change your circumstances, but you can change how you respond to them. In the words of author and speaker Brené Brown: "You are enough. You are worthy of love and belonging just as you are right now."
The first step in nurturing yourself is to show yourself compassion when things get tough. Give yourself grace when life throws a curveball or two (or three). Find joy in the little things--even if they're not big at all!
Living in the Moment
Let's be honest: You're not perfect. There are things about yourself that you don't like, and there will always be more to learn. That's okay! The key is to accept yourself as you are, good, bad and ugly.
It's easy to get caught up in what could have been or what might happen in the future; but when we live our lives this way we miss out on the beauty of being present in the moment. When we focus on what's going wrong instead of accepting ourselves just as we are right now--that's when things get complicated!
The truth is that all humans have flaws--even those who seem perfect from afar (they're probably not). But if I can accept myself despite my imperfections then surely others can do so too?
Letting Go of Judgement
Letting go of judgement is a process, and it's not always easy. You can start by being aware of your own biases, which might be hard to do if you've been living in a bubble all your life. If you grew up in a religious household, for example, it may be difficult for you to see past the teachings of that religion when judging others who don't believe as strongly as yourself. Or perhaps there are certain political ideologies that cause you to immediately label other people as "good" or "bad."
In order to let go of judgement entirely (and this will take time), try shifting your mindset from judgement towards acceptance instead: when someone does something that rubs against what we think is right or wrong, instead of immediately labeling them as good or bad based on our own experiences with similar situations in our lives--or even worse yet--assuming they did something because they're inherently evil people who want nothing more than destruction around them...try looking at things from their point-of-view instead!
