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HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF: 30+ WAYS TO PRACTICE SELF-LOVE AND START LOVING YOURSELF FIRST
Natalya Pazdnikova's Guide on How To Practice Self-Love and Start Loving Yourself First
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO PRACTICE SELF-LOVE
Somewhere, somehow, in the past you felt unsafe to be yourself and eventually forgot how to love yourself. The most self-loving thing you could do was to disconnect and leave your body (figuratively speaking), and disassociate so that you won’t have to fully feel the pain that possibly came from:
neglect
judgment
abandonment
feeling unwanted
shame
abuse
trauma
The list can go on.
Children are so extremely fragile that we as a society are not nearly equipped enough mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to raise them. Speaking globally, we still have wars going on, and outside wars are representations of our inner wars. Statistical rates on divorces are only growing in numbers and this means that we are less able to handle interpersonal relationships. The same goes for mental well-being issues like depression and suicide rates, which clearly identifies our inability to handle our own mental well-being.
Even if you grew up in a loving, understanding and caring environment, it doesn’t guarantee you to have a healthy level of self-love. Children’s psyche is so delicate that even the most loving parent will somehow at some point unintentionally damage it, not to mention the damage brought by society at large outside the family environment.
We didn’t come to this physical reality to experience only pure love and no struggles whatsoever. I wish it was the case, but we live in a world of contrasts and duality. Without experiencing some past hardships, you wouldn’t have achieved some of the great things in your life now. Good and bad comes together. What we can do on a personal level is to accept reality as it is instead of resisting it - playing along and making the most out of this life experience. Any traumatic experience, toxic relationship, identity crisis, or any crisis for that matter, could be something that eventually takes you on a new level. In the Japanese language, the word for “crisis” means opportunity - everything you go through right now can serve as a trampoline for achieving the state of mind and the quality of life that you want.
WHY YOU SHOULD START LOVING YOURSELF FIRST
“Everything you want is on the other side of self-love”
The way we feel about and treat ourselves determines our reality in a very direct way. It affects our romantic relationship, friendships, as well as how we welcome new opportunities and people. It also affects our attraction power and the quality of our lives. It basically affects EVERYTHING.
Our internal reality reflects everything in our present physical reality and not vice versa. Modern life is not easy, we are getting lost in an abundance of information. We are getting distracted by gadgets and social media. We are being torn apart by advertising companies for our attention. Growing competition in our work places is getting tougher. People are expected to multi-task in every area of their lives. All of this only helps our anxiety levels grow and the gap from the disconnection that I spoke of in the beginning only widens.
So, our goal is to close the gap and come back to ourselves, come back to our bodies, come back to our own energy, come back home and nurture this inner environment so that we feel not only safe, but never wanting to leave again. Self-love is feeling good in your own skin. Self-love is the feeling of loving home. Especially if you didn’t grow up in a nurturing environment, it should be your first priority now to practice self-love and give that to yourself. Remember, we are not responsible for our traumas, but we are responsible for our healing.
YOU DON’T NEED A REASON TO START LOVING YOURSELF - YOU ARE THE REASON!
WHAT IT MEANS TO PRACTICE SELF-LOVE
Love is all: love are words, love are actions, love are thoughts, and love is energy.
Self-love is such a huge subject. Self-love includes self-respect, self-trust, self-care, and so on.
Self-love is a state of appreciation for oneself that grows from actions that support our physical, psychological, and spiritual growth. Self-love means having a high regard for your own well-being and happiness. Self-love means taking care of your own needs and not sacrificing your well-being to please others. Self-love means not settling for less than what you deserve. Self-love connects you to your intuitive core where all answers reside. Self-love guides you towards creating and living the life that you wish for.
HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF AND WAYS TO PRACTICE SELF-LOVE
Self-love can mean something different for each person because we all have many different ways to take care of ourselves. Figuring out what self-love looks like for you as an individual is an important part of your mental health.
Learn how to love yourself using the list on ways to practice self-love below. Create a daily routine of your favorite practices and start loving yourself first NOW!
Spend time in nature.
Have a proper sleeping routine.
Start a daily spiritual practice routine.
Practice yoga or go to the gym.
Walk, jog, swim, or go biking.
Take a bath.
Journal your thoughts
Write down your dreams first thing in the morning to build a relationship with your subconscious.
Constantly remind yourself to appreciate the things you have - raise your level of appreciation for life in general.
Train yourself to notice and praise the things you like about yourself.
Play music, draw, build, create an art project.
Laugh - when somethings makes you laugh, lean into that moment and laugh as much as you can.
Smile at yourself for no reason while looking in the mirror - smile for the fact that you exist.
Take the power away from your negative thoughts (most of them have nothing to do with reality).
Learn to navigate your mind towards pleasant thoughts - water your mental garden, so that eventually it will feed you with fruits!
Get into a habit of drinking a lot of water.
Spend time in the bed to stretch before you start your day - enjoy slowly waking up as you set intentions to feel good today.
Make some room for “me time” in your calendar.
Go get a massage or massage yourself. Daily neck hygiene is important so maybe you can give yourself a neck and head massage - this will also stimulate hair growth.
Spend time with your kind and loving friend - don’t forget that hugs release happy hormones.
Get into a habit of breathing deeply, especially in nature or join my free 3-day BREATHWORK CHALLENGE
Listen to music that raises positive feelings in you, not the type that makes you sad.
Plan your meals ahead to make sure you eat right regularly.
Limit the use of your phone and be present more.
Practice mindfulness - be fully present with everything you do in a day.
Lessen all distractions in exchange for stable mental health.
Make sure that your health is in order - visit a doctor if you need.
Help someone in need - we help ourselves by helping others.
Stand up for yourself when you face injustice - this is a form of self-respect.
Get in a habit of posturing and carrying yourself with confidence.
Be stingy with your time and energy - valuing yourself means spending your inner resources mindfully.
Spend more quality time with kids and animals - they are great teachers of self-love.
Make an appointment with a therapist.
IT IS ALL ABOUT YOU.
IT IS TIME TO BE SELFISH.
IT IS TIME TO PUT YOUR FOCUS BACK ON YOU.
If you are seeking to deeper understand yourself, then no amount of meditations, affirmations, reading books and articles will be as effective as the life transformational work that I, as a Certified Psychologist and Spiritual Awakening Coach, can assist you with. Click on the picture below to book a Self-Discovery Game where you will be able to UNDERSTAND, LOVE and ACCEPT yourself on a whole new level ⬇
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