- 1.Practice Self-Soothing
- 2. Making a Self-Love Playlist
- 3. Stop Comparing Yourself With Others
- 4. Meditate and Practice Affirmations
- 5. Start Journaling
- 6. Eat Healthy And Exercise
- 7. Reward Yourself
- 8. Don’t Be Hard On Yourself
- 9. Talk With People You Love
- 10. Set Appropriate Goals
- 11. Go Beyond Your Comfort Zone
Here are 11 PROVEN ways to practice self-love. I have tested them on myself and my clients with great results.
How to love yourself? Don’t we love ourselves anyway? Think again…hard.
It’s not easy to be positive all the time. Somedays you feel like you aren’t enough, you just don’t feel confident with yourself, you didn’t score well on a test, or your boss just scolded you for some small mistakes you made.
Somedays your insecurities hit you up to a certain level that all you see is grey.
Or somedays it is just that you don’t want to do anything, and all your efforts are going to waste.
These days, with a busy lifestyle, be it a high school student or an office worker, or a professor, people forget to self-love i.e. treat or devote some time to themselves and their souls.
Being less confident with oneself is a result of a lack of time spent on their own. We all chase our individual goals in such a hurry, that we forget to stop for a moment, to relax under a shade, and refuel ourselves.
And all this continues when suddenly come to the realization, ‘Hey, I don’t even know myself anymore’.
And on thinking of the ‘How’, all we get are twisted thoughts.
So here I compile 11 ways to practice self-love, to know your worth, and to know your inner self.
1.Practice Self-Soothing
Even though it may appear not so effective, but self-soothing really helps you relax in some way or the other. What is it, and how does it work?
Self-soothing is an effective and quick way to wear away the amount of negativity you feel or to reduce the intensity of your negative emotions.
The methods can be separated according to our 5 senses-
Sight
This can include sitting in a low lighting area, or watching soothing pastel colors, coloring, or applying ice/sleeping masks on your eye.
Touch
Taking a hot/cold shower, going to a spa, getting a massage, cuddling, getting into a soft/fluffy blanket
Sound
Listening to lo-fi music, or a compilation of nature sounds, watching ASMR videos, white noise, binaural beats
Smell
Lighting scented candles or incense sticks, going for a walk in fresh air
Taste
Have warm drinks or strong flavors, having your favorite meal, and eating slowly
2. Making a Self-Love Playlist
It is said music heals, and it is true. Compiling all of your favorite songs, or songs that bring out the best in you may help you feel better about yourself.
Make a few playlists according to your mood and play them whenever you feel down or a certain way, be it in a bath or while having your evening walks.
Some Self-Love songs include:
Lose you to love me, Dalla Dalla, ICY, Epiphany, everythinggoes, Feel Special, Beautiful, Scars to your beautiful, thank you, next, and many more.
3. Stop Comparing Yourself With Others
The problem starts when you compare yourself with others. This should be stopped immediately and replaced with positive affirmations and appreciation.
It is about loving yourself the way you are, know your strengths and master them, know your weaknesses and work for them.
Comparison steals away your confidence and happiness, so it should be stopped immediately. This step could be a real game-changes in how you practice self-love.
Baby steps are to be taken, be proud of who you are and the way you are.
4. Meditate and Practice Affirmations
Starting your day with meditation and affirmations will relax your mind for the entire day, cleanse your thoughts and make you feel more and more confident.
Meditate daily for 20 minutes, close your eyes and focus on your breathing, repeat positive thoughts, and feel good in yourself.
Some self-love affirmations are listed below:
- I am worthy
- I am strong
- I can do it
- I will not make excuses
- I will work hard
- I will succeed
- I can and I will
5. Start Journaling
Channeling out your thoughts and emotions play a really important role in the path to loving yourself.
Start journaling.
Write whatever you feel every day, the emotion you felt, the thoughts that troubled you, the way you tackled stress, and one reason you are happy with yourself, one thing that you were confident of today.
Writing all this brings you closer to your own self and you start knowing yourself in a better way.
6. Eat Healthy And Exercise
What could be better way to self-love then giving respect to your body?
Exercising keeps your body physically fit, and if you’re physically fit, you are mentally fit.
Eating healthy keeps your immune system right and increases your metabolism. Drinking more water and getting an adequate amount of sleep also helps you in being healthy and confident.
Your body gets relaxed enough and is capable of carrying on with the daily activities.
7. Reward Yourself
Be it having a day off, or having a long relaxing shower, or going on a date with yourself, or be it going to your favorite clothing store, reward yourself.
This makes sure that you are given importance and will make you feel better about yourself.
Be it a small win or a big win, always reward yourself and feel special about it. Be your own cheerleader and cheer for yourself, this lifts up your spirit.
8. Don’t Be Hard On Yourself
It is okay to make mistakes, learn to forgive yourself. Start moving on. Reflect on your mistakes and learn from them.
Love yourself even if you make mistakes a thousand times, it’s okay, know your self-worth and work on it.
9. Talk With People You Love
Having a conversation with people you love boosts your happiness index and makes you feel content.
Be it family or your best friend, they make you realize your real worth and make you laugh and feel better as a whole.
Take out some time, talk to people you cherish, and spread love.
10. Set Appropriate Goals
Sometimes we set unrealistic goals and aren’t able to achieve them. This leads to disappointment and less confidence.
So, take one step at a time, set realistic goals, and don’t be hard on yourself, treat yourself, be happy, be you, and be real.
No matter how hard life is right now, no matter how tough it is for you right now, you are capable, and you can do it. Appreciate yourself, love yourself.
11. Go Beyond Your Comfort Zone
Many times, our self-limiting beliefs shackle us. We continue to be in the comfort zone so that we don’t get disappointed by failures and rejection.
These walls created by us prevent us from us from exploring our talents and strengths.
Try to do something new that you haven’t tried. Something that scares you!
Does speaking in public scare you? Go ahead do some course in public speaking and give a speech in your college!
Do you have a fear of height? Try bungee jumping!
Can’t make friends? Go ahead, make an effort to talk to your neighbors or co-workers.
It could be anything. The bottom-line is that you have to do something new.
