I often hear my friends degrade themselves and it’s painful to see that they don’t recognise their worth. For some reason, we’ve forgotten how to like, let alone love ourselves.
Instead of nurturing the self, we’re neglecting it. How many times have you beaten yourself up about not sticking to a diet or failing something? How often do you give yourself a hard time for the way you look? Why do you tell yourself that you’re not good enough?
Negative thoughts can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Except you’re not fulfilling anything with all of that negative thinking. We’ve all had moments where we don’t like who we are but if you let those moments turn into hours, you’ll find that you’re spending every day hating yourself. Stop sabotaging yourself.
Self- love is so important. In fact, it’s an art. You’re the painter of your happiness; you hold the paintbrush which allows you to paint how you feel about yourself and your life.
You NEED to take care of yourself and feed your soul because if you don’t, you’ll constantly feel incomplete and empty. If you can’t accept love from you, you’re going to find it difficult to accept love from or give love to anybody else.
It’s essential to become friends with yourself so that you care about you in the same way that you’d care about a friend.
I love writing and here’s a poem I wrote to make people think about how they see themselves:
“Why can’t you bear to look at me?”
I can’t see what you want me to see.
“But there’s a whole universe inside you”
You and I both know that isn’t true.
“You’ve let your insecurities keep you confined
So when you try to see your beauty, you become blind.
You stay in prison but the door is wide open,
If you let me help you, I can fix all that is broken.
Give me a chance and I’ll give you love and affection.
Please become friends with me, your reflection.”
We talk to ourselves more than we talk to anyone else so it’s essential to make sure that you’re saying the right things. I’m not saying that it’s easy to give yourself love and affection. But it’s not impossible either. If you spend more time focusing on self-love instead of self-hatred, you can spend more time being in a place of love.
Our situations can make us feel like we’re not good enough, hopeless and useless, causing us to look at things with a negative eye. But even though you might not always be able to control your situation and what goes on outside of you, you are still the master of what goes on inside of you. And you can chase the darkness away by accepting your light.
We like playing the victim and feeling sorry for ourselves and self-love can help us to let go of this mentality because you’ll realise that YOU ARE IN CONTROL. If you can see the part that you play in your experiences, then you’ll find it easier to learn from and accept them rather than deny them.
It’s such a powerful thing, to love yourself. When you start to take those first steps towards self-love, you’ll see a difference in your friendships, in your relationships, in your outlook on life and in your potential; the small steps will make a BIG difference. This is because the energy that you use to practice self-love will vibrate and bounce back to you, letting positivity enter your life.
Where does the process of loving yourself start?
In order for you to be comfortable in your skin, you need to be able to enjoy being by yourself. So absorb yourself in your own company and discover your true nature, your thoughts, your feelings and your obstacles to self-love. Understanding yourself better in this way will allow you to be mindful and gain clarity.
Smile when you look in the mirror. Put yourself first. Create a list of things you like about yourself. Hopefully with time, making little positive changes like this will allow you to nourish yourself so that you can grow.
Start practicing self-love:
- Eat properly.
- Do whatever it is you love doing (even if it’s as simple as drawing!)
- Compliment and be kind to yourself.
- Take a break once in a while, you deserve it.
- Remember that you’re allowed to forgive yourself. You’re allowed to give yourself more chances.
- Realise that you’re more than enough.
- Stop comparing yourself to others. They are them, you are you.
- Watch that inner voice which feeds your mind with negative thoughts about yourself. Silence it.
- Let positive thoughts become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Embrace your imperfections, your unique quirks and perks – there will never be another you.
This world can be enchanting but it doesn’t compare to the magic and stardust in the universe that lies within you. Love yourself.
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