Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a day only for relationships with others. It can be about the relationship with yourself. Self-love is how you feel about yourself. While that feeling may change daily, it is important to foster a healthy love toward yourself. Here are 5 ways to practice self-love:
1. Self Care
Self-care is an act of self-love. Self-care is the physical act of doing things that show that you love yourself. In contrast, self-love is the feeling of affection towards yourself. You show yourself you love yourself by doing self-care. Self-care can look like going for a walk, eating a snack, going to the doctor, talking with friends, etc. All of these activities say you have a need, and you deserve that need to be met.
2. Speak kind words to yourself
Listen how to how you speak to yourself. When you don’t do something perfectly, do you say, “ugh, I’m the worst,” or say, “It’s okay that it’s not perfect. I know I tried really hard.” Hear the difference. Practice speaking to yourself from a place of compassion. You can want better for yourself without speaking harshly toward yourself. A question to ask yourself when you are speaking unkind words is, would I say the same thing to my best friend? If the answer is no, then you should be speaking to yourself as you speak to your best friend.
Listening to your body is an act of self-love because you are honoring your needs. When you are tired, rest instead of pushing through the day. When you are hungry, eat. When you are in pain, tend to it. Don’t ignore your body. Through this process of listening to your body, you will begin to understand yourself on a deeper level. Your body tells you so much about yourself, and many of us ignore what it is saying. You only get one body, which deserves to be treated with respect.
4. Take Time To Heal
Healing from emotional wounds is a beautiful way to show yourself, love. Healing says you know this is hard, and you derve to feel better. Healing isn’t an easy process. It requires a lot of unlearning and feeling not great things. Sticking with the healing process says you want to be happy, healthy, and kinder to yourself.
5. Set Boundaries
Setting boundaries with yourself and others is a great way to practice self-love. Boundaries are the way you tell others and yourself how you want to be loved. Boundaries are a way to advocate for yourself and create an environment where you feel safe and respected. You deserve to feel safe and respected. By not placing boundaries, you are telling yourself you aren’t deserving of respect and safety.
The main takeaway should be loving yourself is arguably the most important thing in your life. You are deserving of a kind, caring, and compassionate love from yourself.
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