It’s hard to love yourself every day – even the most confident people feel down on themselves sometimes. But there are ways to get rid of that mean little voice in your head and remember how amazing you are. Here’s how to get back to loving yourself.
1. Remember to live in the present. Living in the past and the future leads to regretting over something you can’t do anything about, or obsessing over about something that hasn’t happened yet. Bring awareness to the present moment and you will feel freedom from that self-hate.
2. On a similar note, get friendly with the demons of your past. Accepting your past and loving yourself even through your mistakes is one of the most powerful things you can do. See your past self as a friend who made a mistake and deserves compassion and forgiveness.
3. Read about heroes or people that inspire you. Everyone is human and flawed that includes your favorite role models and people that might seem perfect, like Gandhi or Marilyn Monroe. This may help you forgive your own missteps.
4. Use positive self-talk and mantras. It’s easy to have a little voice within which is highly critical and judgmental, comparing our lives to unattainable ones. Tell yourself, “I am beautiful, I am strong, I am smart” in the mirror every day.
5. Learn to identify and recognize yourself hate triggers. When you feel emotions of self-loath creeping in due to certain behavior, situations, or people, learn to nip it in the bud. This will avoid a spiral and stop your mind from going to that dangerous areas.
6. It’s easy to compare our lives to supposedly perfect ones on Instagram. A powerful way to remedy this is getting know one of those people you envy. Understanding them on a personal level lets you see their flaws and imperfections, helping you understand that everyone is human.
7. Write down all the compliments anyone has given you, and write a few of your favorite qualities about yourself. Put all these papers in a jar labelled “Good Feelings.” Any time you’re feeling down, read through them and see them as reminders.
8. Stop trying to please other people and their expectations, and focus on pleasing yourself. Being your authentic self can be liberating, versus what people want you to be or expect of you. This can drastically change your self-perception.
9. On the other end of the spectrum, help those in need to replace that people pleasing tendency. Sometimes, when you’re feeling down, giving acts of kindness and generosity for others can make us feel better. Hearing others talking about their problems as a means of catharsis might encourage you to do the same.
10. Get rid of that perfectionist attitude, and switch it to “doing your best and being your best self.” Perfectionists allows themselves no room for being human, the limits that come with that, or any margin of error. Basically, it sets you up for failure.
