It is said the greatest gift in life is love and we are to love others as we love ourself. Unfortunately, I have found there are far to many woman who do not know how to love themselves. My question is how can you truly give love or receive love if you do not really know what it is or have first given it to yourself? The Bible gives us a good definition of love. 1 Corinthians 13:14 “Love is patient, love is kind, it is not boastful, it is not proud (prideful)” Here is a quick reference guide that will help. Print it out and put it on your mirror to reminder yourself daily.
Here are 10 simple ways to Love yourself:
- Be gentle, kind and patient with yourself, treat yourself as you would someone you really love.
- Do not criticize yourself, criticism never changes a thing. You will change in life but first accept yourself exactly as you are because when you criticize yourself your changes are negative but when you approve of yourself they are positive.
- Be kind to yourself mentally as self-hatred is only hating your own thoughts. Don’t hate yourself for having the thoughts. Gently change your thoughts
- Don’t terrorize yourself with negative thinking it is a terrible way to live! Find a mental image that brings a smile to your face or a pleasurable feeling and immediately replace the negative thought with the pleasurable one.
- Acknowledge that you have negatives and you created them to fulfil a need. Also, acknowledge that you are finding new positive ways to fulfill those needs. So, lovingly allow yourself to release and let go of the old negative patterns.
- Don’t give up and don’t beat yourself up! Know that the learning curve is never straight, if you fall back into negative thinking or behaviors just get back on the right track and keep moving forward.
- Find ways to support yourself, reach out to friends and allow them to help you and show they care about you. It is being strong to ask for help when you needed it.
- Take care of your body learn about nutrition, find a method of excercise you enjoy and do it on a regular basis. Cherish and take care of the body you have and it will take care of you.
- Praise yourself! Criticism breaks down the spirit, praise builds it up. This is not being boastful or prideful it is about finding ways to praise yourself by telling yourself how well you are doing with the big things in life and the little things. This may sound corny but it works: Mirror work! Look into your eyes often and tell yourself you forgive yourself for what needs to be forgiven and then tell yourself at least once a day “I love you!”.
- Do it now!!
If you would like to learn more about learning how to realize your self worth and to love yourself here are a few great resources on the subject:
Learn to Love Yourself: Finding Your Self Worth
Loving yourself does not come naturally, it is a choice!
So, Remember: This is the first day of the rest of your life and you can start right now to choose a better self, to be your personal best, to love yourself and to have a great life!
