Love in Focus: 8 Ways to Show Yourself Love and Appreciation
Posted on Friday, February 2nd, 2024
February is the month of love so I thought it was the perfect time to discuss how we can show ourselves some love and appreciation. I am trying to work on this myself, so it’s always nice to have a little reminder!
Let’s talk about some ways we can do this in February and all year round:
- Positive Affirmations
- Give yourself daily, verbal encouragement and reminders in the mirror or post them around your environment to read throughout the day. This may feel silly now, but the more you do it, the more you believe it. There has been research done that proves this works so do not knock it till you try it!
- Think about Addition vs Subtraction
- In the health and wellness world, there is always a focus on what we can remove from our diet. I like to think of this the other way around. What can be added to help nourish our bodies? I recently heard someone say, ‘Eat what you want, add what you need.’ This is the perfect way to frame it! Some foods nourish our souls, and some nourish our bodies. Both have a place in a healthy lifestyle.
- In terms of movement, we want to be mindful of this. Moving your body in a way that feels good to you! Exercising to change how our body looks or burn calories by doing something you hate is not the way to think. Reframe this as moving your body because you can and to strengthen and empower yourself. Find an activity you enjoy and do that!
- Surround Yourself with Positivity
- Stop following those social accounts that have photoshopping or body negativity. Look to follow positive accounts that practice self-love and look like you! Practice using social media less in general!
- Think about where you spend most of your time. When you look around your space do you feel joy? If your answer is no, create an environment you love! I enjoy positive messages, flowers, pictures of people I love, essential oils, etc. When looking around your space makes you smile, you are practicing self-love.
- Focus on Things you Love about Yourself
- Make a list of things you like about yourself and think about more than just those that involve appearance. Consider your personality, character traits, strengths, etc. Your body does amazing things every day and allows you to do all the activities that you love!
- Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
- Do not compare yourself to others and stop feeling the need to meet ‘conventional beauty norms.’ We all know these change every other day! Everybody is different and unique in their way. Wouldn’t the world be so boring if everyone were just cookie-cutter copies of each other? Also, let’s not compare ourselves to past various of ourselves. All bodies change with time to prepare us for what is coming next.
- Cut out Negative Self-talk
- Treat your body with the same kindness you would treat a friend. If you wouldn’t think or say those things to your best friend, do not say it about yourself. In general, let’s stop judging other bodies as well as our own.
- Do Something Nice for Yourself
- Take a bath, wear a face mask, go outside for a walk and fresh air, grab a coffee with a friend, etc. Give yourself permission to slow down and recharge. Going to bed without finishing the dishes is okay. Skipping a workout to get home early and chill on the couch is okay. It is okay to rest. Self-love is about filling your cup; you cannot expect yourself to serve others with an empty cup.
- Ask for Help
- If you’re having a challenging time, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to get the support you need. You don’t have to go through it alone and asking for that support is self-love, even though it’s hard.
At the end of the day, self-love will look different for everyone but at the foundation, it’s the same as any relationship and needs patience and kindness. I encourage you to try out some of these methods and find what makes you feel loved. It can start with something as small as a thank you!
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