5 Tips to Help You Love Yourself More

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“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

Want to learn how to love yourself unconditionally? Then keep reading as we share 5 powerful tips to help you on the journey to self-love.

If you are an introvert, read to the end to learn how to love yourself in a world filled with extroverts.

“To be beautiful means to be yourself.” This quote is powerful and rings true. In these days of shaming – body or otherwise -on social media, it is no wonder people have a hard time accepting themselves for who they are – themselves.

Why You Feel the Way You Do

There are so many reasons why you might look at yourself in the mirror and feel a sense of self-loathing. Or, maybe you don’t feel such a strong emotion. You just don’t really like yourself.

It could be because:

• You have been told that you are too…(fill in the blanks – too tall, too thin, too quiet, too loud).

• You have been searching for aceeptance from others, but never gotten it. This could be from your family, friends, a lover…

• You have never won any awards or accolades. Therefore, you belive that you are not good enough

Whatever the reason, acceptance begins with you. Until you learn to accept and love who you are, others won’t.

Self-love has so many emotional, physical and mental health benefits to it, that it should not be ignored. And you have to love yourself before you can effectively love others. Below are 5 actions you can take to self-love.

Love Yourself and Move

Sitting stagnates our body. And if that sitting happens to be in front of the T.V, it can also lead to mindless snacking on unhealthy foods. Due to a lack of movement (exercise) and an overload of calories, weight gain is usually the result, which can further erode self-esteem and degrade the perception you have of yourself.

If you have a job that requires sitting, prevent the effects of it by getting up and moving for at least 5 minutes out of each hour. More is even better.

 

Practice Good Nutrition

Have you heard the saying “You are what you eat.” And it turns out, it is true. That being the case, you have the choice to eat junk food, which is high in salt, sugar and saturated fat or to eat clean. Clean will not only provide your body with the nutrients it needs, but will also help you stay fuller longer, thus reducing the urge to eat unhealthy snacks between meals. Focus eating fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, lean meats, whole grains, nuts and seeds to get the nutrition your body wants and needs.

 

Love Yourself and Sleep

Being sleep deprived (for whatever reason) takes its toll on the body and the mind because that is the time the body uses to rebuild, repair and replenish itself. If you don’t give it adequate time to do these things, you start the next day at a reduced level of productivity.

If stress is keeping you from getting a good night sleep, take action to reduce it. Where the cause is environmental, then make changes to your mattress, bedding, room temperature, amount of light coming in, or whatever it is that is keeping you from getting at least 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep.

Make Time For You

Sometimes we get so busy taking care of others, that we forget to take care of ourselves. Engage in activities that are relaxing to you. Many people like to do yoga followed by a relaxing warm bath sprinkled with a few drops of their favorite essential oil, like lavender. Add in some soft music and a glass of wine and you have a recipe for relaxation.

Again, one way you can make time for yourself is by seeing a therapist. The truth is that we face stress everyday, not to talk about depression and anxiety. All these affect our lives and seeing a therapist can help you form healthy ways to cope and greatly improve your quality of life.

Yes, I know that seeing a therapist is not something we really do in Africa. However, more people are beginning to realize how beneficial it can be to overall health. If there’s no therapist in your area (or you’d rather not see one in your area), how online therapy? Click here to learn more about online therapy.

 

Love Yourself and Forgive

This one is holding many of us back. There is something that we have done in our past that we are still holding against ourselves whether it was our fault or not. The only way to get past it is to forgive yourself and put it behind you. Otherwise the negative feelings will haunt you forever and hold you back.

The past can never be changed, so it is fruitless to dwell on it. Learn from those mistakes so that you don’t do it again in the future, but then don’t let them hold you back from living a quality life. Forget about the past and move on!

Use these 5 tips to increase your self-acceptance and to love yourself more. Be beautiful both on the inside and outside!

Love Yourself As An Introvert

We live in a society that seems to have more value for extroverts. So, if you are an introvert, you might find yourself struggling to keep up. Wondering if there is something wrong with you. Eventually, maybe even disliking who you are.

In fact, people who are quiet are sensitive and creative. If you fall into this category, you need to learn to love and accept yourself. I found this book really helpful. Actually, it saved my life at a time when I thought I was going mad. In a society where everyone had something to say, I felt deficient for wanting to remain silent.

Before you can love yourself more, you need to understand yourself better. That book helped me and I know it will help you. Here’s to loving yourslf even more!

Check it out on Amazon.