7 Ways to Start the Process of Self-Love
Did you know most of our external problems in life can be fixed with self-love? We know, sounds crazy. We also know you are thinking, “How can those problems be fixed just by loving myself?, right?! However there is a secret power in loving yourself. Once you fully accept yourself for who you are (flaws and all) and unconditionally love yourself, the world starts to love you right back. That includes all of the relationships you are in as well. It really starts to change everything around you. Your health, your career, your relationships - they all start to grow in ways you never thought possible.
Now, we would love to go on top off a mountain and encourage everyone to start to love themselves more, but we also are realistic and many of us might be intrigued to start but don’t even know how to begin the process!
Well, today is your lucky day. We have put together a quick list full of different exercises that will help you begin the process to love yourself. We know this is something that can be mastered over time. The key to the transformation is to practice a little each day.
1. Follow Your Passion
One of the secret ingredients in life to be happy is to embrace what you are passionate about. It can be anything! Taking the time to soul search and learn about the things that matter to you will help you identify your passion ever quicker. Is it animals, art, singing? Whatever you decide will be perfect for you - and that is all that matters!
2. Find Your Happy Place
This is one of our favorite tips to start embracing self-love. Do some soul searching and identify a few places that makes you happy. Is it the beach? Is it under a tree with a book? It could even just be snuggled up on your coach with your dog. Once you figure out where your happy place is, go there and go there often. You can even schedule sometime on your calendar to make sure you do. It’s healthy to give yourself time to doing what you love.
3. Be Okay With Saying No
By nature most of us are people pleasers. We strive to make others happy and sometimes it costs us our very own happiness. We put our ambition and goals on the back burner by doing so. Not any more my friends! It is time to embrace simply saying “no”. Oh, and guess what… there is no explanation needed either. Yep, simply say “no”. The first couple times will be uncomfortable but then the goodness will start to seep in as you realize you just made the best decision for you!
4. Say Goodbye to Toxicity
Toxic can come in many shapes and forms. Sometimes it is listening to negative talk from a friend, dealing with jealous outbursts from a spouse or even being belittled by a loved one. We know it hurts to even think about removing these people from your life, but remember… YOU are the priority in this world. Anyone or anything that doesn’t make you happy needs to be removed. The good news? The break doesn’t have to last forever. Try to be as transparent with those individuals about your feelings and the needed space. By doing so, it just might jumpstart their own transformation when looking in the mirror.
5. Celebrate
So many of us make goals and when we finally reach them, just move on to the next one. Wait! You worked hard to reach that goal. Big or small, celebrate all of those important milestones. Those wins deserve to be acknowledged and there is nothing wrong with patting yourself on the back for the progress you have made in your life.
6. Be Grateful
If you have watched some of our Wednesday Wisdom episodes you will know we are big on gratitude. Learn to appreciate the little things in life. Show your thanks to the universe. You can start by simply finding one thing every morning to be grateful for. The coffee you get every morning at Starbucks, the cozy chair you sit in at your office, the co-worker that always puts a smile on your face. You choose!
7. Learn to Be Patient
Self-Love is a journey without time limits. Each individual will practice it in their own way and each person will make strides at their own pace. Take a moment to look at how far you have come and accept where you are going will take time. Even better, make a point to enjoy the journey as you begin to love yourself a little more each day.