Most of us don’t think about self-love because we are so conditioned at an early age to dismiss our self and our need to love ourselves. So as we develop through the different stages of life we focus less and less on self-love. If you fall into this category I have put together 7 simple ways to cultivate your self-love. These tips will get you started on your self-love journey.
1. Accept yourself unconditionally – embrace yourself where you are. You deserve unconditional love.
2. Be Patient, Understanding and Loving to yourself – Many times the inner negative and harsh criticism we use on ourselves we would never think to use on people we respect and value.
3. Learn to Respect – no matter what negative messages or interactions you may encounter respect yourself. Most importantly demand better from yourself and others. Have a no tolerance for repeated disrespect; of you, your time and your talents. You shouldn’t be afraid to speak up for yourself. That’s a big part of self-love.
4. Surround Yourself with People Who Value and Support the Real You – Having people in your life who sincerely support you is important in fostering self-love and a sense of belonging. They can also help to anchor you during difficult and challenging times.
5. Nurture Yourself – Make time for quality self-care; mental, emotional, spiritual and physical. Self-care is an integral part of putting self-love into action.
6. Put A Stop to Negative Self-Talk – Learn to stop having destructive self-talk with yourself. Your internal conversation and thoughts about yourself affect your self-belief. Your self-belief affects your self-esteem and how you live out your life.
7. Use Positive Support Resources – Have morning a morning routine which will help set the tone for your day. Using inspirational and motivational resources are helpful. Some suggestions are motivational speakers, self-help books, the Bible, videos, webinars and more. Those are just a few examples of available resources that are out there.
There’re more ways than these 7 Simple Ways to Cultivate Self-Love. The few I’ve just shared with you are some effective ways to get started on your self-love journey. Or to remind you if you’ve not started already. In conclusion, loving yourself is not selfish it’s necessary for you to love others fully. The ability to love others begins by learning to love yourself first.