10 Steps to Habit Change
All you need is love…love is patient, love is kind…love is not gazing into each other’s eyes, but looking together in the same direction…
There are countless sayings about love, most having to do with the romantic kind or world peace. Romantic love is ingrained in our culture. With Valentines Day especially, it’s all about that other person. What’s happened to us that we focus so much of our energy on external love? Do we consider this selfish? Love and acceptance of ourselves is an important part of overall wellness, but why is there no holiday for that? The most important person you can love is you! In a busy world, you may not find the time, or feel you deserve to take the time, but give yourself a real Valentines Day gift this year, and learn how to love yourself every day. Take a minute right now and write down 10 reasons why you’re loveable. Having trouble coming up with 10? That’s okay, keep thinking; eventually you will have hundreds of reasons.
Why is loving yourself so important?
- It goes hand in hand with self-esteem. How can you feel good about yourself if you don’t first love yourself?
- It will help find you happiness. It’s true that you cannot truly be happy until you love yourself.
- Others will see it. When you love yourself it will change the way you carry yourself and act around others. This will draw in admirers.
- You will love others more easily. When you love yourself, you become more positive, and see the good qualities in others.
- Others will love you more easily. You will show others the good qualities about yourself, just by being positive and loving yourself
Ways to achieve self-love
- Look in the mirror
- Get to know your reflection with an open mind. Gaze at yourself and tell yourself affirmations of why you are special, or just appreciate your features
- Get rid of the negativity
- Make a list of things you may not like about yourself. For each negative comment, write a counter of how to improve it, or why it is untrue. We all have things we can improve about ourselves, and we all have self-doubt, which is usually irrational. Dispel these ideas by actively telling yourself why some of your criticisms are untrue or unfair.
- Create Goals
- If there is something about yourself you don’t like, make a plan to improve it. We all have things about ourselves we need to work on. Instead of letting it affect how you feel about yourself, create a goal you can work towards.
- Cut yourself some slack
- We’re often a lot harder on ourselves than on others. Why? We deserve as much slack as anyone else. Remember no one is perfect.
- Remember you’re Special
- How great is it that we’re all unique in our own ways. Think of all the things that make you different and celebrate them! You being you is fabulous.
- Celebrate yourself
- Treat yourself to something special or have some quality alone time with yourself. Free yourself, and just be whatever you want to be. Show yourself some love, whether it’s reading a book, taking a bubble bath or getting pampered.
- Recite positive affirmations
- The idea of faking it until you make it is true. Even if you’re not feeling the love, tell yourself you are loveable every day. Try to feel it and believe it to be true, and eventually it will be. Write a list of positive affirmations for yourself and say them each day.
- Find a passion
- Is there something you always wanted to do? It could be learning guitar, painting, writing a book, dancing, anything at all. What’s stopping you from doing it? Having a passion will give you something to enjoy in your free time, so just do it!
- Follow your dreams
- Whatever it may be, try and find a way to incorporate your dreams into your everyday life. Even if it’s ten minutes a day, if it’s every day it will add up fast
- Take care of yourself
- One of the best ways you can show yourself some love is to take care of yourself. Try to give yourself enough sleep, eat for health, exercise, and go for regular checkups and screening.
-Be Healthy. Be Balanced.
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