Cultivating Self-Love
Self-love is a hot topic these days and some advice is better than others! February is all about the love, and we want to share some of our tried and true advice for cultivating your most important relationship — the one with yourself.
Take care of your needs. Sometimes you might get into a rut where everything feels hard and love for ourselves is impossible. In those moments, it’s crucial to take care of our basic needs. Drink water, eat something nutritious, take any prescribed medications, move your body, and take a shower.
When your physical needs are met, your mind and spirit have the opportunity to thrive! Now is the time to be mindful. Slow down, disconnect from your devices, and ease into your mind. You might have thoughts flowing as you try to shift from the chaos of your everyday mind into an intentional, mindful space. Acknowledge these thoughts and refocus on clearing the mind and thinking deliberately.
Practice gratitude. Find things you’re grateful for everyday. Write them down and put them in a place where you’ll see them often.
Shut down negative self-talk. Sometimes our inner monolouge can be downright mean! Pay attention to how you speak to yourself and take note. If you realize you’re being hard on yourself, find ways to shift that tone. One idea: give your negative inner voice a name and tell it to be quiet. “That’s enough, Bernice!” It’s silly, but it works!
Determine and hold your boundaries. We can’t expect people to really understand how we feel and that’s why emotional boundaries are so important. It’s our responsibility to teach people how we want to be treated. This can be especially difficult in established relationships, but we can find our inner strength to speak up and advocate for ourselves.
An intun, we really want you to move better, feel better, and live better—and loving yourself is a BIG part of that equation. Do you want more self-love support? This article from Psychology Today was very helpful in writing this section and you might find it helpful in your self-love journey, too!