Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for all other relationships in your life. If you’re struggling to love and accept yourself, you’re not alone. Fortunately, with some intentional action, you can improve your relationship with yourself. Here are some tips for self-love.
Live Aligned With Your Values
If you want good self-esteem, do esteemable things. It’s simple but it’s true. When you act in a way that aligns with your values, self-worth comes naturally. For example, if honesty is one of your central values, but you’re consistently making up white lies to make yourself sound better, the disconnect between the two prevents you from feeling good about yourself. Living a life that unites how you feel inside and how you act is important for self-love.
Accept All of You
No one is perfect. If there are parts of yourself that you try to hide away or deny, try giving them some light. You may hate experiencing certain emotions, the way your body looks, or what you’re afraid of, but they’re all a part of what makes you, you. Accept that you cannot pick and choose parts of yourself, so you may as well embrace even the not-so-attractive parts.
Speak Honestly
It can be easy to just go with the status quo and avoid expressing your true opinion. Whether it’s not expressing your frustration with someone or pretending you liked a movie you hated, not speaking your truth has consequences for your self-love because it’s harder for you to really know yourself. Make a point to be honest, and get to the bottom of what makes you avoid speaking your truth.
Be Grateful
You are not grateful because you’re happy, you’re happy because you’re grateful. Self-love springs out of genuine appreciation for yourself and your internal world. Show yourself love by showing gratitude for who you are — what are you grateful for about yourself today?
Practice Self-Compassion
It may be easy for you to forgive other people for their flaws, but how about when you make a mistake? Do you beat yourself up whenever you fall short of your expectations? You’re human. You’re not going to be perfect, and you can’t stop yourself from failing sometimes. What you can control is the story you tell yourself about your missteps. Instead of conflating one incident with your worth as a person, recognize that this is simply one mistake that you can move past.
Surround Yourself With Loving People
It’s easier to love yourself when you’re surrounded by people who love you too. Do you have friends who really know who you are and accept you? Or do you feel like you’re always playing a role? Find a circle of people with whom you can be truly authentic, and you can expect them to not judge you while still pushing you to be the best version of yourself.
Are you struggling to love yourself? You may benefit from seeing a therapist in Prairie Village. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.